The Suna Konoha Exchange Project
by argentum-moon
Summary: *Not* just another highschool AU. Temari comes to Konoha to study, not planning on getting a relationship. It would only cause her trouble. But things get difficult when she meets someone interesting... ShikaTema among other pairings. Part 2: College
1. Prologue

**Prologue- ****The Suna- Konoha Exchange Project.  
**

Long ago, a peace treaty had existed between the countries of Wind and Fire, and the villages Suna and Konoha had been allies. In honor of the anniversary of that alliance, the governments had introduced an exchange project. Students from Suna could go to Konoha for a few months, and the other way round.

Temari was one of the smartest in her class, and she could speak foreign languages with almost no accent. Those were the most important reasons why she was chosen to go to Konoha. She had been excited when she had first heard about it, but now that she was actually going, she wasn't so sure anymore. She had gotten a letter from the girl she would be staying with, and she seemed very nice, but _pink hair_? The people in Suna were quite old-fashioned in those things, and Temari wasn't sure what to think of it. Would all the people there be so strange?

"Do you have everything?" Kankuro asked. "Passport, food?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," she answered. "I only have to get into the airplane and then I'm off."

Although it was only early spring, it was hot and sweaty in the airport. Many people were hurrying to their planes and yelling things in strange languages. Temari was carrying two suitcases and a bag, all of them quite heavy.

"I hope the weather is better in Konoha," she said to her brother.

Kankuro sighed. "Probably. Man, I wish I could go. I heard the girls are gorgeous there!"

"As if that's the most important thing," Temari said. "It's a great change for my study!"

"But you'll meet other people there, right? Then why not have some fun?"

"It's only for a few months. I'm not planning on falling head over heels in love and then get a long-distance relationship."

Her brother shrugged. "Well then, let's go! Your plane is leaving in twenty minutes."

He gestured another boy to come, who was looking at the display of a wine shop.

"You're too young for that, Gaara. Let's wave our sister good-bye."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming already," Gaara said, with one last, longing look at the bottles. "You know Temari, in Konoha you're allowed to drink! The age limit is lower there."

Temari sighed. "The only things you two care about are alcohol and women! I'm glad I'm leaving!"

But when they said their goodbyes, she cried a little anyway. Four months was a long time, and who knew if the Konoha people would be nice to her?

When the airplane finally set off, she played with her hair and stared out of the small window, to the home she left behind. There was no going back now…

* * *

**AN**: This story was inspired by the second ending of Naruto: Shippuuden, and many high-school-AU fanfics. I'm trying to write something unique, but I'm not sure whether I'll succeed…

It starts with an exchange program; Temari comes to Konoha to study there. The languages are different, Konohan is English and Sunan is… English with some Spanish words. I can't speak Spanish at all, so please forgive my mistakes. It just seemed to fit for Suna.

Of course, there are pairings (inevitable when writing about high school), the main one being ShikaTema. I'm starting with the ones that are currently "canon": one-sided NaruHina and one-sided SasuEveryone-minus-Hinata, but I'm planning on making some romance happening beside ShikaTema. You'll see!

Edit: I was told to drop the Spanish, so I did. I guess it was indeed quite annoying, as an anonymous reviewer stated.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- A new girl in town  
**

The school was really enormous. It had three floors, two entrances, an extensive library and more than a thousand students. Tsunade, headmaster of said enormous school, smiled at Temari.

"Well then, I hope you'll enjoy yourself here. If you have any questions, the teachers will be happy to help you."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Tsunade." Temari didn't think she had ever spoken so much Konohan in one day, and it still was morning! Tsunade continued:

"Shizune will bring you to your class now. I'm sure you'll get along with your classmates. Have a good day!"

Temari thanked her again, and followed the deputy headmaster Shizune. She was playing with her hair again, and felt the jitters in her stomach.

* * *

It all seemed like a normal day to Shikamaru. Miss Yuuhi was telling something, Naruto was making too much noise to understand anything of it, Ino and Sakura were talking enthusiastically and Chouji sat next to him eating his crisps. Yes, it was a perfectly normal day, until the deputy headmaster entered the classroom. She was followed by a girl who seemed to be slightly out of place. She wore a Konoha school uniform, but still looked very foreign.

And suddenly, Shikamaru remembered the exchange program with Suna. So this was the girl that would be studying with them…

"Good morning, class," Shizune said, "I would like to introduce someone to you."

Most of the students sat up straight and eyed the new girl curiously. She shot them a threatening look.

_Man_, Shikamaru thought, _she seems scary…_

_What a bunch of idiots._ _As if they've never seen a girl from Suna before_, Temari thought. Although, these kids probably had indeed never seen someone from the Wind.

The teacher of the class, a tall woman with curly brown hair, snapped her fingers.

"Boys in the back, pay attention! You too, Naruto!"

A blond boy groaned and turned around. He muttered something to the dark type next to him and then looked at Temari. One eyebrow rose.

Shizune continued. "This is Sabaku no Temari. She came all the way from Suna to study here, so please be nice to her. She will be in this class for a few months before going back to the Wind Country. I expect that you will all help her to make her feel at home soon." She smiled to Temari, nodded to the teacher and left the room.

A few students greeted her, and one girl (Sakura, the one whose family she was staying with) waved. She wasn't hard to recognize, not many girls dyed their hair in such a bright color. The boys the teacher had warned were talking again. They seemed okay, just like the guys at home. One of them, the black-haired one, was very handsome, but he looked around disinterested. They all didn't seem too enthusiastic, sitting slouched in their chairs and eating crisps. One of them didn't even bother to sit up; he was resting his head on his arms as if he was sleeping. He wore a ponytail, and Temari absently wondered what his face would look like.

"Well then, Temari," Kurenai said, "Welcome to Konoha."

Temari snapped back to reality and answered her in her best accent: "Thank you very much, miss…"

"You can call me Miss Yuuhi," the teacher said. "Now, please pick a table. Do you have your books?"

"Yes, Miss Yuuhi," she answered, and let herself sink in a chair behind Sakura. As the teacher continued the lesson, the pink-haired girl turned around and smiled at Temari.

"Hi! How was it to meet the headmaster?"

Temari shrugged. "She's quite a strong character," she said. "What chapter are you at?"

"Three," Sakura said. "But we're not going very fast, so you'll have plenty of time to catch up. By the way, have I introduced you to Ino yet?"

She pointed to the blonde girl next to her. Temari shook her head.

"Ino, this is Temari, the girl I told you about. She'll be staying at my house for the coming months. Temari, Ino. She's my best friend, I'm sure you'll like her."

"Hello," Temari said. "Hi," Ino answered. "Do you like it here in the Fire Country?"

"Oh, it's okay. The weather is a lot colder than Suna, but it seems like the people are very nice here."

"Yes, they are. I'm sure you'll never want to go back to Suna!"

Temari doubted that, but decided not to say so. It was hard enough to follow the quick flood of words already, and she had to pay attention to the lesson too. She was here to study, after all.

* * *

After history, Miss Yuuhi's class, and English, by Mister Hatake (a very strange fellow who was always late) there was a lunch break. Sakura decided that this was the perfect opportunity to introduce everyone. Temari objected, but didn't find the right words in time. Before she knew it, she was shaking hands and trying to understand everything they said to her.

"Hello! I'm sorry, but what was your name again?" a girl with brown hair in two buns asked.

"I'm Temari, Sabaku no Temari."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tenten."

There were two boys sitting next to her. One was a sporty guy who seemed a little strange, the other was very good-looking, with long brown hair and rather girly features.

"I'm Rock Lee, pleased to meet you! I'm sure you'll have a great time here!" the odd one exclaimed. Temari decided to introduce him to her youngest brother once.

"Hyuuga Neji," was everything the pretty boy said.

Then there were Shino, who didn't say a word, Kiba, a quite wild boy, Hinata the shy girl, Sasuke the cool and handsome heartbreaker, Naruto, wildest and loudest of them all, and Chouji, a chubby, but friendly boy. And there was Shikamaru. His face was visible now, but he had such a sleepy and lazy look in his eyes that Temari couldn't believe it when Sakura introduced him as the smartest one in their class.

"Really? You don't look like it." It was said before she knew it.

He looked at her a bit angry. "Yeah, really."

She was sorry she had said it, but too proud to apologize. So instead, she said:

"I was the best of my class at home. I'd like to compare us once."

Sakura giggled. "Oh, that'll be hard for you!" But Shikamaru shrugged.

"I don't care. Let her try if she wants," he said, and turned around. He walked over to the chubby one, Chouji, and Temari watched him pensively. He was interesting. She was sure she could beat him though. She always could beat everyone, so why would he be any different?

* * *

After school, Temari and Sakura walked to Sakura's house. It was very close, which was good. In Suna she had to ride for half an hour before she arrived.

There was tea standing ready for them, and they sat down to drink. Sakura started talking.

"So, how did you like the school?" she asked.

"Well, the lessons are interesting, and it's not really difficult to understand the teachers. I only wish they wouldn't speak so fast all the time…"

"Yeah, I imagine that's hard for you. But what about the people?"

"Oh, well… Everyone seems very nice; they are polite and friendly, although some of the boys are a bit… loud." She thought that would be the right word.

Sakura laughed. "Naruto, I suppose!" Temari nodded.

"We're in the same study group. He can be really annoying sometimes, although he's a nice person. But he's not very useful to study with. No, Sasuke on the other hand is really amazing, he's handsome and intelligent, but he hardly ever talks to me…" She pouted.

"I noticed that. He seemed a bit cold to me. What are those study groups exactly?"

"Oh, some invention of one of the teachers," Sakura said. "We suspect mister Hatake, he's always talking about teamwork, helping each other and such. Well, the main idea is that you put three persons together in a group, and they have to work together. Make papers and projects, do experiments, that sort of things. So if one doesn't understand, the others can help him."

"Well," Temari said, "it sounds like a good system."

"Hmm, yes, I guess it is. In any case, I get to work together with Sasuke! He's a great partner, he knows everything, and he's not lazy like Shikamaru or arrogant like Neji, and he looks way better of course…"

Temari groaned on the inside. Was this girl only going to talk about some _guy_? She decided to bring up another topic before her ears would start ringing.

"Say, is it always that cold here?"

Sakura stopped talking abruptly. She thought for a moment and said:

"No, mostly it's better, though it does rain quite often. But it's still early spring; we just changed to our summer uniforms. They are a bit chilly."

"Yeah, those uniforms are really strange! I'm not used to short skirts like these…"

She gestured to the clothes she was wearing. Sakura tilted her head to one side.

"You look nice in them, though. But I see what you mean. Tenten, I'm sure you've met her, has protested for so long that she's allowed to wear the boy's uniform now, with pants."

"Well, I agree with her," Temari said. "Although these uniforms are, in any way, better than the ones at home."

"Oh, what is it like in Suna then?"

"It's all very strict, the uniforms are decent, and you really have to wear them the right way. Things like here, such as a girl wearing boy's clothes or even not knotting your tie properly, is out of the question. It's all about hard work."

"Oh, that's terrible!" Sakura shuddered. "I won't complain about my school ever again! By the way, have you heard about the test tomorrow?"

"Test?" Temari's mouth suddenly became very dry.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in town, a bunch of boys sat together, annoying adults and eating crisps.

Naruto was telling something about an experiment that had gone wrong the other day, with unpleasant consequences for Sasuke.

"Yeah right," Kiba said. "You're lucky he's not here!"

Naruto grumbled. "Yeah, he's off studying. He finds school more important than his friends!"

Shikamaru sighed. "That test is so troublesome… Hey Chouji, could you hand me some?"

Chouji passed him the bag of crisps and said: "Save me the last one, okay?"

"Sure."

Shino looked up from his book.

"Actually, you should be studying too," he said. "This test might be important, and we shouldn't make a bad impression on the student from Suna. She is here to study too."

"Yeah, that girl…" Naruto said. "What do you guys think of her?"

"She seems okay," Kiba answered. Chouji added: "A friendly person." Shino nodded.

"I don't know," Naruto scratched his head. "She looked at me as if she was about to kill me."

"That's not very strange," Kiba said, "seeing the way you looked at her."

"Hmpf. Anyway, Shikamaru, what do you think of her? I heard from Sakura that she claimed to be smarter than you!"

Shikamaru leaned against the wall.

"Whatever. It's just another troublesome woman," he said. "I'm not going to get all worked up because of her. She's probably only bragging anyway."

* * *

**AN:** Sorry it took so long to update! DeviantArt was taking all of my internet time, I've posted up until chapter 5 there already... Anyway, next week I have a lot of exams, so it'll probably take some more time to prepare all the documents of this fic. But I'll try to post chapter 2 and 3 here too, before next week is over. I can't promise anything, though...


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Just being curious…  
**

"Good morning, kids," mister Hatake said. "Please sit down and get a pen."

Temari's hand rose.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I didn't know there would be a test so soon and I haven't prepared for it…"

"Oh, I see. Well, try to make the best of it and we'll see afterwards."

Temari nodded. "Okay," she said, but still looked unsure. Sakura smiled at her.

"Come on, I'm sure you'll do great! Besides, you've got to proof something…"

"Huh? What could that be?" Temari asked.

"Well, yesterday you said you were a top student, and you'd proof you were better than Shikamaru…"

"I did? Well, if you say so." She shrugged.

Naruto, who had been listening to their conversation, turned around.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" he yelled, "Do your best for once! You can't let a foreigner beat you!"

Shikamaru buried his face in his hands. "How troublesome…"

Temari looked at him, interested. "Is that the only thing you've got to say?" she asked. He looked up surprised. "Nah. It's just that I haven't prepared a thing and now they all expect me to get an amazing mark again…"

"Well," Temari answered, "I haven't prepared either, so our chances are equal. You're even at advantage because you know the language better."

"Could be," he said. At that moment they heard mister Hatake's voice:

"Quiet now! I'll hand out the papers."

Temari turned around. She took a pen and looked at the first question.

She was happily surprised. Could it really be that simple? She started filling in answers quickly, smiling slightly. She'd show them what she was capable of!

Shikamaru stared at the new girl. He had never seen someone filling in the answers in that quickly. Although mostly he didn't find the tests difficult at all, he never bothered to do his best. He saved the real work for more important things. But damn, he couldn't let a woman beat him! With a sigh, he started writing too. It was really quite easy, actually.

Half an hour went by. Mister Hatake took the papers back and started marking them. The students relaxed a bit and discussed the results. Shikamaru rested his head on his arms and seemed to be dozing off, but he observed Temari carefully. She chatted a little with Sakura, but didn't laugh like the other girls. It looked like she was watching her step, she was probably still unsure in this new environment.

* * *

After fifteen minutes or so, mister Hatake looked up from marking the papers.

"Now this is interesting…" he said.

The students stopped talking to each other and looked at their teacher.

"What's wrong, sir?" Sakura asked. Mister Hatake smiled.

"It seems like we have another top student in our class," he said. "Congratulations, Temari and Shikamaru, you both have the highest mark."

Chouji's mouth fell open. "What?" He looked at his friend. "You actually did your best?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't care if I get a high mark or not, but I can't lose to a woman."

Temari raised her eyebrow. "Well, well… Apparently he's not what he looks like, after all," she mused. She glanced at him, and saw he was looking back at her.

He had a strange expression, something between fascination, respect and surprise. Mostly surprise though. But as soon as he saw she was looking, he got his usual bored appearance again.

Temari concentrated on her pen, spinning it nervously between her fingers. What was with this guy? No one had ever been worth the competition. And here he was, not even doing his best. She sighed.

* * *

Temari and Sakura walked home together. Temari played with her ponytails, absently listening to Sakura. She was talking about the test, how difficult it had been and how hard she had worked for it. Temari said "yeah", and "absolutely" now and then, but she didn't really see Sakura's point. That test had been easy.

"Hey, Sakura?" she suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Could you… tell me a bit more about the persons in our class?"

"Oh, sure! Well, there's Sasuke-kun of course, but I suppose I've already told you a lot about him." Temari nodded and smiled slightly.

"Then there's Naruto. He's loud, stupid and sometimes really annoying, but he's a great friend. He had a crush on me some time ago, but I guess it's over now. He knows I'll always wait for Sasuke…" She sighed. "I do know Hinata likes him, though. She's really quiet and shy, but a very sweet person. She's in a study group with Shino and Kiba. Shino doesn't really talk at all, I don't know a lot about him, actually. Kiba is a bit like Naruto, but different. He's quite over-confident and bossy, but not _that_ loud, and a bit more intelligent I guess."

"That would be a plus," Temari laughed.

"And then we have Neji, he's Hinata's cousin. But he's nothing like her at all. A bit proud and arrogant, but okay. Lee is strange. He's always training, I don't really know for what, and he seems to like me… And Tenten is a very friendly girl, but a bit of a tomboy."

"Yeah, you told me."

"Well then, who's left? Ino, she's one of my best friends. She's really popular, and she's had a lot of boyfriends, but I know she likes Sasuke too. She's in the same study group as Chouji. He eats a lot and is the kindest boy I know. And the last one would be Shikamaru. He's just a lazy guy who accidentally got the best brains of all of us. Too bad he doesn't use them that often."

Temari kicked a stone. It flew across the street and hit a lantern. "How can he be the top student if he doesn't work?" she asked.

"He doesn't study, but he's so smart he can figure almost everything out. So when we need to learn something, he gets a poor mark, but when it's about understanding or application, he's the best."

"Aha. He seemed to be sleeping in class. Don't the teachers get mad at him?"

"They do, but they can't really threaten him. He passes every exam anyway. But yeah, he does absolutely nothing during the lessons, only daydreaming or staring at the clouds. Miss Yuuhi gets crazy of it, as do the other teachers. Only mister Sarutobi seems okay with him, I don't know why."

"Hm."

Sakura glanced at her. "Why do you want to know so much about him?"

"Oh, just being curious. He seems like a challenge." She decided to change the subject.

"Do you think it's going to rain? The clouds look so dark."

Sakura looked up at the sky. "Maybe. It's looking indeed quite bad over there." She pointed to the south, where lots of grey clouds blocked out the sun.

"We'd better hurry."

* * *

"Looks like it's going to rain soon," Shikamaru said. He was leaning backwards against a wall, looking up at the clouds.

"Hm, too bad," Chouji put some more crisps into his mouth. "But it's good for the plants."

"Yeah, the flowers have been a bit dry lately," Ino said. "By the way, how did your test go?"

Chouji sighed. "Not great, but acceptable. And you?"

"It went okay," Ino shrugged. "Yours was perfect again, wasn't it, Shika?"

"Don't call me that. But yeah, it was easy."

"That foreign girl almost beat you. She seems pretty smart, aren't you scared of her?"

"All women are scary." Seeing Ino's threatening look, he added: "See?"

"Hmpf. You're just scared of everything, number one coward."

"So what? I'm just being careful. Not like you, you'll get in trouble soon with that mouth of yours."

Chouji raised his hands. "Don't fight, please! We were talking about the new girl, Temari."

"Oh, yeah," Shikamaru scratched his head. "I wonder where she's staying."

Ino laughed. "You were really sleeping when they told it! She's staying at Sakura's, so I can tell you all about her."

"Aha. Well then, start with her expressions. Why does she never smile?"

Ino tapped her lip. "Hmmm… I think because of her school in Suna. Sakura told me it's very strict, so I guess they're not allowed to yell and laugh loudly there."

"Then Naruto'd better not go there!" Chouji said. They laughed.

"Does she have siblings? She seemed a bit lonely."

"Yeah, I thought she has two brothers. I suppose she misses them. I know I would, if I had them…" Ino pouted.

"Well, you've got us," Chouji said.

"And should I be happy with that?" she teased. Chouji playfully hit her shoulder.

"Oh, you!" She jumped to her feet and snatched his bag of crisps away. Shikamaru sighed.

"Jeez, take it easy! I thought we were having a conversation?"

"Not anymore!" Ino laughed, holding Chouji's precious food high. "But since when are you so interested in a girl?"

"Just being curious," he shrugged. Ino smiled at him jokingly. "Hey, if you want to know so much about her, why don't you go ask her yourself?"

Shikamaru considered it for a moment. "Nah, too troublesome," he said then. "I think I'm going to the library, I've got some work to do. See ya!"

This was obviously an excuse, but Chouji and Ino didn't really notice, and didn't really care, either.

* * *

"Hey, Sakura?" Temari asked, looking up from her notebook.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a book about the local traditions and culture? I have to write an essay about Konoha, for school." She pointed to her notes.

"Oh, I don't think we have that here. You should go to the library," Sakura said. "It's in school, and it's open all day. Do you think you can find it by yourself?"

"Sure," Temari said. "How late do I have to be back?"

"Well, Ino is coming over in the afternoon, maybe you'd like to get to know her better. She'll be here around five."

"Sounds good, I'll be back then. Bye!"

She took her coat and went out of the door. She closed the buttons carefully; a few drops of water were already falling from the sky. And damn, it was cold here in Konoha!


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- An intriguing** **person.**

Temari entered the library and took off her coat. She wiped the water from her face, and silently cursed the rain. In the desert it was dry at least. Boiling hot, but dry. She welcomed the warmth inside the library.

The woman behind the counter looked at her curiously. Temari greeted her friendly.

"Good afternoon. Could I sit here to work?"

"Sure," the lady said. "You can sit over there." She pointed to some tables with comfortable-looking chairs, and Temari wondered why there was no one else. It seemed very pleasant here.

She sat down at one of the tables and took her notebook. She read through what she already had written, and looked up at the bookcases. It wouldn't be very hard to find what she needed, there was an entire department about the local traditions. She got up and started taking books off the shelves. When she had almost more books than she could carry, she went back to the table and opened the first one.

Shikamaru ran towards the entrance of the library. He hadn't really planned on going there, but it had started to rain heavily and the library was the closest public building around. Still, he didn't like to be in school when he didn't have to. But at least it would be quiet there.

He quickly closed the door and shook the water out of his eyes. The lady at the counter greeted him. He greeted back and looked around for a comfortable chair. There were a few nice seats in the back, but there already was someone sitting there. At first he sighed and wanted to look somewhere else, but then he recognized the new girl. He remembered calling her scary, but maybe she'd turn out to be okay. He walked towards her.

"Hey," he said. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," she answered, and looked at her book again. She was taking notes, and Shikamaru was amazed to see someone actually study. No wonder she was a challenge for him.

He tried to see what kind of book she was reading, but it was laying flat on the table so he couldn't see the title. Then he'd have to ask her. Troublesome…

"What are you reading?"

She looked up, surprised. "Oh, something about the traditions of Konoha. I have to write an essay for my school in Suna."

"I see. How's it going?"

She shrugged. "Okay. But some things are a bit unclear. Hey, you seem to know a lot. Could you help me out with some things?"

He considered it. There was nothing else to do, it was raining outside and she seemed like an interesting person. Strange as it was, he wanted to know her better.

"Of course, ask whatever you want," he said. He walked around the table and sat next to her. "Eh, Temari was your name, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it is. And you're Shikamaru." It wasn't a question.

"Yep."

She smiled at him. "Well then, what is a Hokage exactly?"

He rested his chin on his hands. "Long ago, when the villages still consisted of ninjas, the Hokage was their leader. The strongest ninja of them all. But in fact, he was just sitting behind a desk all the time and giving orders."

She laughed. It was a pleasant sound. "Oh, in that way," she said. "We had Kazekages. They say my family descends from one."

"Cool. My family is pretty old too, but nothing special."

"Too bad. But it's not really important, isn't it?"

He shook his head. "Nah."

She pointed at something in the book. "Could you explain me that Will of Fire thing?"

"Sure. Well then, the Will of Fire…"

--

She was good company, though Shikamaru still thought she was scary. But he observed her closely and discovered many other things. She played with the purple beads on her hair ties when she was talking. She didn't smile much, but when she did it was genuine. She bit her nails. There was a trinket hanging from her cell phone, shaped like a small fan. She was almost as smart as he was.

He was fascinated.

After a while, Temari absently checked the time. She gasped. "Shit!"

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked.

"I said to Sakura I would be back at five, but it's a quarter to six already!"

"So what? I'm late all the time."

"But I'm not you. And she said Ino was coming too, now I'll make a bad impression!"

"Ino?" He laughed. "I know her. You don't have to worry about her."

Temari calmed down a bit, and sighed.

"Okay then. But I'm still going back now. Too bad, I liked talking to you." She took the books and replaced them on the shelves.

"Do you have enough for your essay now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Eh, I don't think so. I'll come back tomorrow."

He scratched his head. "Should I come to? I mean, just to help you, of course…"

"Oh yeah, sure! That'd be great!" She smiled at him. "See ya tomorrow!"

She took her coat and left the room. When the door was closed again, Shikamaru blinked.

"What a woman…"

Temari ran towards Sakura's house, her coat flapping behind her. The rain had stopped and the sun shone through the clouds, making the pools on the street sparkle like crystal. The water splashed up when her feet came down to the ground, soaking her shoes.

When she finally put her hand on the doorknob, she took a few deep breaths. As soon as her heart had a normal rhythm again, she opened the door.

Ino's coat was already hanging from the hat rack. She hung hers next to it, and stepped out of her shoes. Then she went into the living room.

"Hey, Temari!" Sakura and Ino were sitting on the couch, holding teacups. Sakura waved.

"Hi, Sakura. Sorry I'm late!" Temari said.

"Oh, never mind," Sakura smiled. "You were lucky it's not raining anymore. Do you want some tea too?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

Temari sat down on a chair next to the couch and greeted Ino.

"Hi," the blonde girl said. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, I was in the library and I met a boy from our class there. He told me a lot I could use for my essay, and we had a nice talk."

Ino seemed curious. "A boy? Who, Sasuke?"

"No, Shikamaru."

She laughed. "What's so funny?" Temari asked.

"Nothing! I just can't imagine having an actual conversation with Shikamaru. That guy is too lazy to even open his mouth!"

"Well, he was very friendly to me." Temari shrugged and Ino tilted her head. She eyed the foreign girl inquisitive. But before she could say anything, Sakura came back into the room. She handed Temari a cup of tea and sat down on the couch again.

"So, Ino. What was all that fuss about that Sai?"

"Well, I met him yesterday in town. At first he was quite annoying, but then I noticed those dark eyes and…"

Temari wanted to slap her forehead. She gave up talking with Shikamaru for this?

At least he knew some interesting subjects, and he was smart. It was strange to see how he could be lazy and brilliant at the same time, she still hadn't figured out how he did that. But she had noticed many other things about him. He arched his eyebrows in a very funny way, and when something was bothering him, he would roll his eyes and say "troublesome," which seemed to be his favorite word. He complained often, but he didn't whine. He stared at the sky a lot.

She took another sip from her tea. Although she didn't want to admit it, that guy fascinated her.

--

The next day, it was mister Sarutobi who announced a test. They had to study two chapters, long ones. Everyone sighed, and Naruto complained loudly.

"We just had a test for English! We can't have another one so soon!"

Kiba yelled back at him: "In case you didn't notice, the teachers don't care!"

Hinata, the shy one, timidly said: "Please, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, don't yell. Tests have to be made, and we can only do our bests…"

Kiba sighed, quickly changing his mood. "You're right. I better start studying a bit earlier now, last time I screwed up…" Naruto, who also had a low mark at English, slammed his fist on the table.

"Okay! I'm gonna work hard for it! I'll proof I'm not stupid!"

Hinata smiled admiringly, but Sasuke laughed sarcastic.

"That's going to be difficult for you then, idiot."

Temari turned to Shikamaru, who was sitting two rows behind her.

"Last time we were both unprepared. Wanna see how it is when we do prepare?"

He was resting his head on the table, but opened his eyes a little wider at the sound of her voice.

"Uh? Yeah, sure…" He wanted to doze off again, but suddenly snapped up his head.

"Hey, Temari?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Are you gonna work in the library again today?" He did his best not to sound suspicious, but Chouji stopped eating his crisps and looked at him.

Temari nodded. "Yes. Will you help me again?"

"Sure. I'll see you there after school, okay?"

"I'll be there."

Shikamaru rested his head on his arms again, and continued to stare out of the window. After yesterday's rain the weather had changed, it was sunny now. The only clouds in the sky were little plugs of cottonwool, which were very sleep-inducing.

Chouji started eating his crisps again. He looked at Shikamaru, who was already snoozing again, and then at Temari, who was diligently taking notes. Shikamaru, laziest student of the class, was offering to help her, while she seemed to be the perfect student? Why would he assume she needed that? Chouji took another bite. He would find out eventually.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- Studying**

It was becoming a habit, Temari thought. She sat in the library, the books in front of her and her notebook open. She played with her pencil and waited.

After a few minutes, the door opened and a boy entered. Green coat, grey T-shirt, jeans, dark hair in a ponytail: Shikamaru. He greeted the librarian and walked over to Temari.

Drawing back a chair, he said:

"So, what do you have already?"

"A cold," she answered, rubbing her nose. Shikamaru sat down and asked:

"Why don't you wear warmer clothes then?"

"In Suna it's boiling hot right now! I didn't know it would be so cold here!"

"Jeez, don't get angry. It's not _that_ cold, really…"

"Well, enough for me to get sick." She sighed and pointed to her book.

"That's what I'm working on. The ANBU."

"Hmm." Shikamaru scratched his head. "I don't really know very much about that…"

But soon Temari discovered that what he called "not very much", others would call "a lot".

After an hour of taking notes, discussing, talking and occasional laughing, Temari suddenly said:

"I'm hungry. Are we allowed to eat here?"

Shikamaru shook his head.

"You better not try. Chouji got in a lot of trouble once when he tried that."

"Hmm, that's too bad..." Temari sighed.

Shikamaru smirked. "We could go to my house, it's nearby. I won't forbid you to eat there," he said.

"Sounds good," Temari answered. She put back her books and closed her notebook. They got their coats and went outside.

"Do you really think it's cold?" Shikamaru asked, swaying his coat over his shoulder.

"Well, it was last week." Temari rubbed her nose again, and followed Shikamaru.

"But it was raining then!" he said. "Of course it's cold when there's water falling from the sky. Anyway, it'll be sunny for the next few days, so you don't have to worry."

"Good." Temari sighed. "I really don't get how the other girls can be comfortable in those school uniforms…"

"How do you mean? To the left here, by the way." They crossed a street and Temari said:

"Those skirts! They're so short!"

"Oh, those. Yeah, well, I guess the teachers like them."

"Eww, that's disgusting!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, you look good in them." Temari stopped walking for a moment.

"Really? Thank you," she said. Had she just gotten a compliment from a boy? That was new to her.

She started walking again, and almost bumped into Shikamaru. "Here it is," he said. He opened the door, and gestured her to come in.

"My parents aren't at home, so you can plunder the fridge as much as you like."

She followed him to the kitchen, carefully taking in everything she saw. The house wasn't really big, but seemed nice. Not like the large, empty house in Suna, more like Sakura's house. But it was a lot warmer and more pleasant. She would love to stay here.

"What do you like? Soup, or bread or something?" Shikamaru asked. "And you can have all of the eggs if you want. I hate them."

"Oh, really? I like eggs. But if I could have some bread, that would be great."

"Sure." He opened the cupboard, took out a hump of bread and handed her a knife. Then he let himself fall on the couch, watching Temari making herself a sandwich.

When she was finished, she walked over and sat next to him.

"This is really strange," she said, "I only know you for a few days and I'm in your house, eating your food already. Hah, if Kankuro knew…"

"Kankuro, that's your brother, right? So what if he knew?"

"He's really over-protective. You see, our family is quite complicated. He feels like he's responsible for us, because he's the oldest son."

Shikamaru moved into a more comfortable position, accidentally brushing Temari's knee. He didn't notice the sudden flush on her cheeks, and she pretended not to have noticed too. It was ridiculous to blush about something like that.

"What's so complicated about you then?" he asked. She sighed, still a bit nervous. Playing with the beads on her hair tie again, she said:

"First of all, our father is hardly ever at home. He's very important in our city, but he doesn't bother to care for us. We used to have babysitters when we were little, but Gaara scared them all away. We practically raised ourselves."

"That really sucks… But what about your mother then?" he asked.

"Our mother died when I was little. Gaara blames himself for that, because she died when she gave birth to him. He tries to be an alcoholic but Kankuro doesn't let him. But he does wear a lot of eyeliner, and he's always silent. I'm very worried about him, I think he's really lonely."

Shikamaru eyed her concerned. "That's terrible. I'm sorry for you."

"It's okay," she said. "I wish he could meet some of the guys from here. Naruto and Lee would be great friends for him…"

"But what about you? It must be really hard for you, too."

"Yeah, it is, but Kankuro helps a lot. At least, he tries; it doesn't always work out the way he plans. I hope he's doing all right now that I'm gone. I miss them so much…"

Shikamaru was silent. He didn't have any siblings, but he knew he would miss Chouji, and, okay, Ino too, terribly when they'd be in another country. But he didn't know what to say to comfort Temari. He only knew her a few days, and yet, she seemed very familiar to him already. But this was new to him.

After a minute or so, he stood up and asked:

"Do you want some more bread?"

"No, thank you," she answered, and managed to crack a smile. He knew her well enough already to see it was a fake one, though.

"Did you tell Sakura any of this?" he asked then, leaning against the kitchen table. She shook her head.

"No. She's nice, but I don't think she would understand. She seems like she doesn't know any bad things at all sometimes, so happy and bright is she. It would be very difficult to tell her this."

"Hmm, yeah. I guess you don't want to work on the ANBU any further now?" She smiled again, this time genuinely.

"No, I don't think so." And then, curiously:

"But what about you? I've told you all about the drama in my life, even though I hardly know you. Can you tell me a bit more about your terrible experiences?"

He laughed. "I'm afraid I don't have that much sadness and sorrow! The only troublesome thing is that my entire life is controlled by women."

She tilted her head to one side. "How is that troublesome?"

"First of all, my mother, who's the most troublesome woman ever. Really, I don't understand why my father married her."

"Come on," Temari said, "she can't possibly be that bad!"

"Just wait until you meet her." The idea of meeting Shikamaru's mother caused her to blush again, but again, he didn't notice. What was with this guy, she wondered again, to make her blush so easily?

"And then you have the headmaster of the school," he continued, "Tsunade. She's terrible too, I think she sees it as her mission to make every student work himself to death."

Now Temari laughed again. "That's not so strange, considering you sleep in class!"

"Hn," he grumbled, looking away.

"Hey, I don't mind," Temari quickly said, afraid she had hurt his feelings. "As long as you're smart enough to be a challenge for me, it's perfectly okay!"

"Good," he said. "Well, the girls in my class are troublesome too. They're all obsessed with boys, Sasuke in particular."

"Hinata didn't seem to be such a fangirl," Temari said.

"Not Sasuke's, no, but she's totally smitten with Naruto. That's too bad, I know a guy who really likes her, but she doesn't notice."

"Tenten then? She didn't look too girly."

"No, but Neji makes up for her lack of femininity, I guess."

She laughed, and he was glad to see she was happy again. She looked pretty when she smiled. Well, less scary, in any case.

"Then," she said, "that leaves me. Am I troublesome too?"

"Yes," he said without hesitating. She widened her eyes in surprise. "Why?"

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been in the library so often, and I wouldn't have to work for those tests if you weren't so damn smart." And I'm telling you everything I'm thinking already, even though I hardly know you, he thought, but he didn't say that out loud.

"Oh, that. Well, you still have to study for that test mister Sarutobi spoke of."

"Damn, you're right. I almost forgot. I'm not really used to studying, but I can't afford to lose to you."

She grinned. "I can help you, if you need it…"

"No way. But if you could tell me which chapter we're supposed to learn…"

"Sure. Where do you have your books?"

"Upstairs, in my room. Let's go there, it's more comfortable."

Although Temari thought the couch and the warm living room were pleasant already, she was curious to see what Shikamaru's room would look like. So she followed him up the stairs. Every step creaked.

"Welcome to my sanctuary," Shikamaru said. "It's a real mess, though…"

And it was. Clothes were laying everywhere, and books, pillows, papers, just about anything that could possibly be in a room was laying around on the floor, the bed and the small bureau. Temari's eyes bulged out. This was even worse than Gaara's room!

"When was the last time you cleaned it?" she asked, flabbergasted. He scratched his head.

"Uhm, somewhere last year I think…" He started throwing things off the bed, on to the floor.

"It's no wonder you have trouble with your mother," Temari said. "Jeez, what a pigsty!"

"Hey, mind your words! I can throw you out of my house anytime, you know." But she knew he didn't mean it, so she answered:

"As if you could throw me, weakling!"

"Well, obviously not with your weight!" He grinned.

"Oh, you!" she said, and tried to punch him. He dodged and poked her in her sides. She shrieked and pushed him away, but he grabbed her hands and pulled her with him. He tried to turn around, but tripped over something on the floor. He lost his balance and fell on the bed. Because he was still holding Temari, she fell too and somehow got under him. It was a quite… suggestive situation.

The blood rushed to her face again. Shikamaru, surprisingly, was blushing too. He quickly let go of her, and she sat up straight again. She tried very hard not to look too embarrassed. Shikamaru coughed.

"Eh, sorry about that…"

"It's okay," she said, trying to sound normal. Changing the subject would be best, she thought. "Well, where are your books?"

He quickly got up and took his book from under a pile of T-shirts. Flipping the pages, he sat down on the bed again and asked:

"Which chapter?"

"Three and four," she answered. "My book is still at Sakura's, but I've studied it already. Do you have anything else to read?"

"Sure, look around and see if there's anything you like," he said, searching for chapter three. Temari got up and shoved some of the mess aside. She found a magazine about science, a book with fairy tales and a manual for a motorcycle. She took them all and went to the bed again. Shikamaru was sitting cross-legged, seemingly very interested in the text. She sat down on the other side of the bed. It was quite small, and she found it difficult to find a comfortable situation. The wall was too hard to lean against, but she didn't want to sit upright. So she turned around and leaned against Shikamaru's back. He looked over his shoulder, surprised maybe, but he didn't say anything about it.

Temari smiled, and opened her book.

-------------------------

A/N: I got tired of changing all the spaces between the paragraphs, so now the text's not bunched together anymore. Might even be easier to read, too. It's strange to me, on deviantART and in Word it looks very different, but almost everything here on is like this, so I guess it's okay...


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- Suspicions.**

_Tuuuuut…  
__Tuuuuut…_

"Sabaku no Kankuro, good morning."

"Hey, brother! It's Temari, how are you?"

"Temari! Long time no see! We're missing you terribly…"

"Really? It's only been a week since I left."

"Yeah, we manage to live without you, but I'm not used to cooking."

"Hah! What are you making? Don't tell me it's pizza."

"Nah, we only eat that when it's Gaara's turn to cook. I'm trying to boil some potatoes right now. But it's hard, the water splashed all over my shirt. I should wear an apron."

Temari snickered at the mental image.

"Well, you should practice more! How's Gaara, by the way? Can you keep him off the alcohol?"

"Yeah, I guess. He's in his room now, listening music, being depressed… But how are you doing there in Konoha?"

"Oh, quite good. The people are really nice, and the school's easy!"

"Well, everything's easy for you. I bet you're beating them all!"

"Sure do! I'm showing them what the Wind Country is made of!"

"Sand?"

"Hahaha. But there's one guy that's quite a hard one… He's damn smart."

"A guy? How do you mean?"

"Just what I said, a boy that's just as smart, maybe smarter than I am. But he's friendly though, he helped me with my homework."

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"I don't like the thought of some Konoha fellow with you. You said you didn't…"

"I know what I said! But it's nothing like that, really. It's just homework."

"Well, if you say so. By the way, how are the girls?"

"I haven't really paid attention to them, but I guess you would like some of them. Though I think many may be too young for you. And all the others are… not really your type."

"Ah, too bad." Suddenly, she heard him curse.

"Kankuro! What's wrong?"

"My potatoes are burning! Hey, Temari, see ya! Good luck with the boys!"

And with that, he slammed down the telephone.

Temari giggled, Kankuro cooking was something special. But what he had said about Shikamaru made her worry. It _was _only friendship, wasn't it? But what about the blushing? And that embarrassing accident in his house? And that happy, light feeling in her stomach every time he entered the library?

She cursed silently. She would not allow herself to lose her head, and she would not allow herself to lose her heart. But what if he…?

---

Girls. Such a stupid subject, Shikamaru thought. But somehow, the guys didn't want to talk about anything else.

Hanging out in town was usually fun, but there weren't many of the boys now. Everyone was busy, except for Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji and Lee. Not the ideal combination. Especially, Shikamaru mused, when it came to girls.

It was strange to see Kiba so embarrassed. He stuttered:

"I know she likes Naruto, but I can't help it. She's just so cute, and very funny too, when she's not acting so shy."

Chouji offered him some sweets. "That's really bad. But I'm sure you'll be alright. Crushes don't last forever, you know."

Kiba took the sweets and said: "Thanks. You sound like you have experience. How's that?"

Chouji laughed. "I see Ino everyday! And every day, there's a new guy she's crazy about. Don't worry, your time will come."

"Yeah, but Hinata is nothing like Ino."

"Hm, that's true…"

Lee brought in his piece of advice: "If you truly like someone, it will be very hard to overcome. I've loved Sakura for ages, but she has never looked at me quite the way she looks at Sasuke. Yet I will never give up!"

Neji sighed. "But Lee, you never give up on anything. When a girl doesn't like you, you just have to live with that."

Kiba eyed him. "You seem to know about that. Is there something you haven't told us?" Lee became very curious. "Yeah, Neji, is there a special someone in your heart?"

"No! Not at all!" Neji said, but his ears turned pink. It was a ridiculous sight. Shikamaru decided it was time to stop this conversation, before they would start on him.

"Could you please talk about something else? Women are so troublesome."

"Oh, do you really think so?" Kiba asked. "You don't seem to mind some Sunan company, though."

Shikamaru shot him an agitated look, but Chouji said:

"That's true, you've been spending an awful lot of time with Temari. What do you like so much about her?"

"It's not like that!" Shikamaru said. "We're only doing homework. She has to write an essay about Konoha, and she asked me to help her. Now we do our homework together, that's all. " Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"Really!" Shikamaru was getting irritated. It really was not like that, was it?

Come to think of it, she was the only girl he ever had had a good conversation with. She seemed to understand everything, a bit like Chouji almost. But he would not have a tickling battle with his best friend. And only with Temari he got that funny, electric feeling every time they touched. He liked the competition they had; she wanted to win so badly. It gave him a strange feeling. But there was no way in hell he was going to tell the guys. So he changed the subject:

"Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

Kiba leaned backwards, yawning. "I dunno," he said. "Enjoying each other somewhere?"

Neji snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. Sasuke is studying for tomorrow's test, and Naruto tries so too. I guess Sasuke is helping him."

"Oh, that's it? Just like Shikamaru and Temari…" Kiba said with a huge grin on his face.

"Will you shut up about that?" Shikamaru asked, frowning. "Or I'll tell Hinata something interesting." That was enough for Kiba to fall silent again. Chouji sighed.

"I guess we better start studying too…" The others agreed.

---

"I'm proud of you, class. It looks like you did your best. There are many high marks, some really exceptional." Sarutobi looked at the list with their names. Sakura held her breath.

"Aburame, 85 points. Akimichi, 76 points. Haruno, 93 points. Hyuuga Hinata, 80 points. Hyuuga Neji, 91 points. Inuzuka, 69 points. Yamanaka, 78 points. Nara, 99 points, as I expected. Tenten, 82 points. Rock, 60 points. Sabaku, 100 points, very good! Uchiha, 96 points, and Uzumaki... see me after class."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then everyone started talking.

"Shikamaru did his best again! I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, but Temari beat him. I didn't expect that, she's good!"

"What do you mean, see me after class?!"

"Temari, that's great!"

"What. The. Hell."

Temari turned around, looked at Shikamaru and grinned. She raised her hand, her fingers in a V-form. V for victory, he thought. Or the peace sign.

"How was that?" she asked, still grinning. Then she turned around again. Sakura's mouth hung open.

"Whaaaat?" she said. "You got a higher mark than Shikamaru?"

Temari shrugged. "I told you I'd try."

With a lot of effort, Shikamaru got up from his chair and walked over to their tables.

He said: "Congratulations. You win."

Her eyes opened widely. "What do you mean? Are you giving up?"

"Yeah," he said. "It's too troublesome. You can still come over if you want, but I'm not gonna study anymore."

He went back to his seat again, and Temari was silent for a moment. How could he just give up like that? She thought he liked their competition, it seemed like he had been doing his best. Didn't he want to win from her?

Sakura whispered: "I wonder why Sarutobi is looking so distracted. I heard he and Yuuhi have something going on…"

Temari observed the teacher. He was staring pensively at Shikamaru's paper.

"He's not thinking about a woman," she whispered back. She stood up and walked to the front of the class, pretending to throw something in the wastebasket. When she returned, she peeked over the shoulder of the teacher and tried to read what Shikamaru had written. She was used to his handwriting already, so it wasn't that hard. All of his answers were short, but right. Only the last one was crossed out. Temari tried to read what it had said, and was surprised to see it was the right answer.

Why would he give up at the very end, when he had almost won?

---

In the lunch break, Sakura and Temari sat with Tenten and Hinata at a table. Ino was sitting with Shikamaru and Chouji on the other side of the canteen. They were laughing at something, and Ino flung her hair over her shoulder in a very theatrical way.

Sakura heard something beside her and turned around. She was shocked by the expression of pure jealousy on Temari's face. The girl grinded her teeth. Sakura checked what she was looking at, but didn't see anything strange. Just Ino and Shikamaru, having fun. Why would Temari be jealous of that? It couldn't be that she _liked_ Shikamaru, could it?

----------------------

A/N: Happy new year, everyone! I know I'm terribly late... I'll upload 2 chapters to make it up ;-)


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- More and more.  
**

"Why are you not studying anymore?" Temari asked. She let herself fall on the bed. "You can't give up like that!"

Shikamaru rested his forehead on his hands. "Don't get so troublesome. I just didn't want to work so hard anymore."

"You only read those chapters once! That's no hard work at all! And you said you didn't want to lose from me!"

He sighed. "I didn't want to lose from a woman. That's different."

"So I'm not a woman?"

"Hardly," he said. Temari grumbled. She turned around, he faced her back. She opened her book and started to read. Shikamaru watched her. Was she angry? Why would she? She had won their competition, hadn't she? He thought she had wanted to prove she was smarter than he was, but now that she had, she was disappointed in him. So troublesome, he thought again. She was probably pissed off because he said she was hardly a woman. But if she was really angry, she would've left his house, right? And she was still here, sitting on his bed. He smiled, and turned around to lean against her back. Somehow, he found this position very comfortable.

---

"It's a quarter to six already, I should go back to Sakura's," Temari said. She got up from the bed and put her book back.

"Oh, okay," Shikamaru answered, and got up too. They walked down the stairs, but Temari suddenly stopped. Someone was standing in the hall. A woman she had never seen before, but by the look on Shikamaru's face, she guessed it was his mother.

"Hey, mom," he said, a bit surprised. "I thought you wouldn't be home before seven?"

"I was finished earlier. Who is this?" the woman asked, looking at Temari.

"Hello, I'm Sabaku no Temari," Temari said, holding out her hand. "Pleased to meet you, you must be Shikamaru's mother."

"Yes, I am," she said, shaking Temari's hand. "Please call me Yoshino. Where do you know my son from?"

"Oh, we're in the same class. I came here for an exchange project, and he helps me with my homework."

Yoshino smiled. "Yes, he's very smart. It's too bad he doesn't work that hard, but I've noticed some improvement lately. I'm sure you'll do great if he helps you."

Temari glanced at Shikamaru, who rolled his eyes.

"Thanks," Temari said, "but I really have to go now. Good evening!" Yoshino greeted her too, and went into the living room. Shikamaru groaned.

"Well, that was my mom…"

"Oh, she's not as bad as you describe her, is she? I thought she was very friendly!" Temari said, closing her coat.

"I guess troublesome women like each other. But now she's going to interrogate me about you, and she won't stop until she knows exactly how many grandbabies she can expect!"

"Twelve, at least," Temari grinned, trying very hard to ignore the leap her stomach made. Babies? Shikamaru's babies? She was so busy keeping her face straight, that she didn't notice Shikamaru's blushing. He inwardly slapped himself. Such a stupid remark! What if she got the wrong idea now? Maybe the guys were right after all, and he did like her…

"Well then, see ya tomorrow," he said. Temari waved. "Bye!"

She turned around and walked away. He carefully closed the door and leaned against it. What was he going to tell his mom now?

---

Temari stared at the ceiling of the guest room. It was getting worse. She felt as if her head might explode if she didn't tell anyone. It was too late to call Kankuro or Gaara, besides, they wouldn't understand. Sakura could be an option, but once she'd know, Ino would, and once Ino'd know, the entire school would. Shikamaru was the only person she felt she could discuss things like these with, but now Shikamaru was the last one she wanted to tell.

She had to find a way to let it out.

Slowly she stumbled out of bed, and grabbed her notebook. A pen was found next to her bag, and she returned to bed. She opened the notebook and started writing.

_This is driving me crazy.  
__I can't sleep anymore, and everywhere I go I see him. He's constantly on my mind.  
__He can make me blush so easily. Damn, my knees get weak when I see him!  
__It wasn't supposed to go like this. I wasn't supposed to fall in l  
__Love is such a big word. I like him a lot, though. He's the most interesting person I've ever met, and the best company I've had in ages. Do I… love him?_

She closed the notebook and crept away under the blankets. This feeling was scaring her, but at least she could sleep now.

---

The next morning, at breakfast, Sakura asked:

"Can I borrow your notes for history?"

"Sure," Temari said, and handed her notebook over. Sakura started flipping the pages, and Temari concentrated on her bread again. It was silent for a while. Then Temari suddenly remembered what she had written last night, and quickly looked up. As she had expected, Sakura was halfway reading her "confession". Temari gasped.

Sakura shot her head up, alarmed. She closed the book immediately.

"I'm sorry," she said genuinely, looking to the ground. "I shouldn't have read that."

Temari took the book from her hands, not knowing what to say. 'It's okay' would be ridiculous, because it _wasn't_ okay, but she didn't want to be mad at Sakura.

"Can I tell you something?" Sakura timidly asked.

"What?"

"Give up on him. You'll only hurt yourself, because he'll never feel the same about you."

Temari was shocked.

"Trust me," Sakura continued. "I know what it's like. But as I've experienced, Sasuke is incapable of loving. He won't care about you, either."

A small smile reached Temari's eyes.

"Can I tell you something too?"

"Sure," Sakura said, a bit surprised.

"Trust me, Sasuke isn't the only boy around."

And with those words, she got up from her chair. "I'll be going to the library after school again," she said, and took her bag. Then she went out of the room to get her coat.

Sakura still sat at the table, thinking. She remembered Temari's jealous look when Shikamaru was laughing with Ino. Silently she said:

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with him, haven't you?"

---

Temari was silent the entire way to school. Sakura planned on asking her about Shikamaru, but before she could say anything about it, other problems occurred. Ino, Tenten and Hinata were all standing together in front of the lockers, and Hinata seemed like she could burst into tears any moment.

Sakura hurried towards them, Temari following behind her.

"What's up?" Sakura asked, and Ino answered:

"Hinata finally told Naruto she liked him…"

Temari eyed the dark-haired girl. She trembled a bit, and Tenten put an arm around her.

"And what happened?"

Ino sighed dramatically. "He told her he didn't like her _that way_, and that she could better look for someone else."

Hinata sobbed. "I d-don't know what I did wrong… H-he did say he w-was sorry, but…"

Temari bit her lip. Were boys really worth all this trouble? It was said love made people do strange things, but Hinata was almost crying!

The bell sounded. The girls swung their bags over their shoulders and walked in the direction of their classroom. Ino and Sakura were talking about Naruto and Hinata, then went to boys in particular and finally came down to Ino's current boyfriend.

"I'm sure Sai would never be so mean!" Ino proclaimed, her hair swaying behind her. Temari absently tugged at her ponytails. Ino's hair was long and silky; hers was spiky and absolutely not manageable. Would Shikamaru mind? She shook her head to clear it from that thought, and listened to the conversation of the girls before her again.

"Oh, but when I saw him in town yesterday…" Sakura said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"He did what?!" Ino yelled, and Temari's heart leaped when she suddenly heard Shikamaru's voice.

"Jeez, Ino, don't make so much noise so early in the morning!"

"Oh, hey Shika. Where's Chouji?" Ino asked, smiling brightly.

"He's sick, ate something wrong. And don't call me that."

He rubbed his nose and looked at Temari.

"What's happening? Everyone seemed to be upset about something…"

Temari sighed. "It seems like Hinata confessed her love for Naruto, and he turned her down."

"Oh, is that all…"

She frowned at his nonchalance. "Hinata is really upset about it!"

"Oh, I don't doubt that! But this was bound to happen once. Now it'll all get rolling, and I know the outcome already."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, Hinata likes Naruto. But he doesn't like her, so she's heartbroken now. There's a guy who likes her, but she won't notice him because she's still so sad about Naruto. So he'll be heartbroken too. Sakura will follow Hinata's example and confess her love for Sasuke, but he'll turn her down too and she'll be heartbroken. It will continue like that, and it ends in everyone being sad. And I'm not planning on joining the lonely hearts club, so I stay out of it."

"Hmm, sounds like a good plan. But I think when you fall in love, there's little you can do about that…"

He arched an eyebrow. "Experience?"

She blushed and quickly shook her head. He shouldn't get any ideas!

---

Shikamaru was right, things got nasty. But it didn't really go the way he had foreseen.

After class, Kiba walked towards Naruto. Shikamaru nudged Temari, and whispered:

"Now it'll start."

Temari turned around and looked at the boys. They were already arguing.

"How could you do that to her?!" Kiba yelled. Naruto raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, calm down! I just don't like her that way, that's all!"

"How do you mean, that's all?! She loves you, damn it!" He sounded really angry.

"And what am I supposed to do about that? It's her problem!"

"You bastard! You don't know what you're turning down!" Kiba grabbed Naruto's collar, and Temari heard the girls next to her gasp. Hinata buried her face in her hands.

Raising his fist, Kiba continued: "Hinata is the most loyal person I know! She'd never, ever leave or betray you, she's really in love with you! How can you still remain so uncaring?!"

Shikamaru decided to interrupt. He stepped forward and put a hand on Kiba's shoulder.

"That's enough," he said. Kiba looked at him with burning eyes, but he lowered his hand.

"Keep out of this, Nara," he growled. "You have no idea what it's like."

One corner of his mouth rose. "If you say so. But you shouldn't fight in school."

Kiba slowly came to his senses again, and bowed his head. He stepped backwards, leaving Naruto alone. Sasuke immediately went to the blonde, but he was the only one. All others kept a safe distance.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Kiba softly said when he saw Hinata. Her eyes were wide, but she gave him a small, trembling smile.

"I-it's okay, Kiba…"

Temari caught Shikamaru's eye and raised her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes and walked towards her.

"So troublesome," he said. "Let's get something to eat." She nodded, smiling.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- Accidentally in love.  
**

They went to the canteen. Shikamaru fell down on a chair and slowly started unpacking his lunch, muttering something about his mother who gave him the wrong food again. Temari saw Sakura and Ino coming in, and waved. The girls walked towards their table and sat down. Sakura turned around to see if Hinata and Tenten were coming too, and stated:

"They're at it again."

Temari looked up, and saw what she meant. Kiba and Naruto had come in, and were arguing again. Shikamaru sighed.

"I'll try to fix it," he said, and got up. He walked towards the boys, who were about to fight again. Naruto yelled:

"Why are you trying to make me like her? You're the one that's in love with her!"

"That's not important!" Kiba answered. "I don't want her to be sad. Unlike you, I care about her!"

Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder.

"If you really care, you shouldn't embarrass her so much," he said quietly.

Temari eyed him secretly, pretending to listen to the conversation. Tenten and Hinata had arrived too, the last one redder than ever. Sakura was talking with Ino and Tenten, but Temari didn't pay much attention to them. She was yanked out of her daydream when Ino suddenly jumped to her feet.

"There he is!" She looked at the entrance of the canteen, where a disinterested, black-haired boy had appeared. For a moment Temari thought it was Sasuke, but then Ino yelled:

"Sai, you bastard! It's over!"

The boy looked at her blankly, then shrugged and walked away. Ino, who seemed furious, sat down again. She turned to Hinata, and said:

"Really, sometimes it's better to forget about a guy and just move on."

Hinata sighed. "I know. It's just… I've liked him since primary school, and it's kind of hard to get over that…"

Tenten patted her head. "Take your time. It'll get better." She smiled.

Temari rubbed over her lips. They felt rough and dry, and she frowned. She quickly glanced at Ino's lips. Of course, they were the prettiest equivalent of perfect, covered in lip-gloss. She sighed. She had never really cared about her looks, but now that she was spending almost every afternoon with Shikamaru, she started to worry. Maybe Sakura could help her; she'd ask her when they went home.

Shikamaru returned to the table.

"Man, how troublesome…" He looked at Temari with a somewhat amused look.

"Hey, Temari, I don't think you can come over this afternoon. I'm gonna visit Chouji."

"Oh," she said. "Okay, too bad. Greet him from me."

He smiled. "I would really appreciate it though, if you could come tonight. I wanna show you something."

This caused raised eyebrows all around the table.

"Sure, how late?" Temari asked, a bit surprised. What was he insinuating?

"Oh, I'll get you when it's time," was the answer. "Now, I've gotta go. See ya!"

And with that, he was gone. Sakura grinned at Ino.

"I told you!"

Temari turned around. "What did you tell her, exactly?"

Sakura became as red as Hinata. "I didn't tell her… That thing this morning… I wouldn't, I mean… It was just that she said that…"

"Yeah, it's okay," Temari brushed it off. "Say, school's over now, isn't it? Let's go home, I promised to call my brothers today."

"Okay," Sakura said, and got up. "Bye!" she waved to Ino and the others, and followed Temari to the lockers. When they got their coats and walked out of the school, she grinned.

"So, it really is Shikamaru, isn't it?"

Temari tried very hard to ignore the heating of her cheeks. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh, come on! It's obvious!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." She suddenly got serious. "But hey, you know what you're doing, right?"

"Of course I am!" Temari said. "There's nothing going on! Even though I sometimes wish there was…"

She blushed, and Sakura smiled widely. "Just follow your heart," she said, and sounded like a talk show.

---

After dinner, they sat in front of the TV. Temari couldn't care less about the sitcom Sakura was crazy about, she constantly had to think of Shikamaru. What the hell was he planning? She rubbed her lips again, and suddenly said:

"Hey, my lips are very dry. Do you have something for that?"

Sakura tilted her head.

"I could lend you my lip butter," she said, and dug into her bag. She took out a little pot. "It's strawberry flavored, is that okay?"

"Sure, thanks," said Temari, and took it from her hands. She put something on her lips, and grimaced. It was really very sweet. She gave it back to Sakura, and the girl said:

"Hey, Ino and I were thinking… How about a girl's night, next week? We wanted to invite Hinata and Tenten too. Would you like to join us?"

"Eh, sure, why not?"

"Okay, great! Hey, I need your advice on something. You know, Sasuke?"

Temari was about to answer, but then there was a knock on the door. Sakura jumped to her feet and yelled:

"I'll get it!"

She went to the front door and opened it.

"Yo."

Shikamaru was leaning against the wall. He scratched his head and asked:

"Is Temari here?"

"Ehm, yeah," Sakura said, surprised. "I'll get her."

She went into the living room again, and said:

"Someone's at the door for you."

Temari got up and walked to the door. Sakura winked and whispered:

"Good luck!"

Temari merely raised an eyebrow. She got her coat and greeted Shikamaru.

"Hey! How's Chouji doing?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "He's fine."

She smiled. "Good."

They walked to the street, and Shikamaru eyed her from aside. There was something about her lips, they were all pink and soft suddenly. It was not that he hadn't felt the urge to kiss her before, but it became very hard now. She was just so damn lovely.

Temari noticed his nervousness, and played with her hair again. Sakura's words had made her even more unsure, especially because she didn't want to get a romance with Shikamaru. It would only end in a broken heart, because she had to go back to Suna one day. And she would not let anyone hurt her.

But still, he was so attractive…

It was time to bring up a subject. Temari looked around and saw that they were walking past a long, low white building. Somewhere in the back of her head she remembered Sakura saying it was the house Hinata and Neji's family lived in.

The sun was almost setting, and their shadows were large.

"Look, we're on that wall there," she stated.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, our shadows." Shikamaru raised his hand and made some movements.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to catch your hair." And indeed, the shadow of his hand moved over the shadow of her ponytails.

"This doesn't work," he noticed, and moved his hand again. Now the shadow fell on her real hair.

"I guess that doesn't work either," she laughed.

"Then I'll pull it the old-fashioned way!" He reached for her ponytails and tugged one of them.

"Hey!" she yelled, and tried to dodge him. "Stop that!"

He ran away, and she went after him. She sprinted and managed to pull his ponytail too, but then he broke free and she had to run after him again. For the lazy ass he was, he ran pretty fast.

Panting, they reached Shikamaru's house. He quickly opened the door and Temari followed him inside. He threw his coat under the stairs and went upstairs to his room. Temari carefully hung her coat on the hat rack, and went upstairs too. When she entered Shikamaru's room, she gasped.

"Oh!"

The window, opened widely, showed an amazing sunset. She ran towards it and leaned against the windowsill. Lips slightly parted, she took in the view. She hadn't told anyone, but the thing she missed most about the desert (apart from her brothers) was the magnificent view of the sky. Shikamaru came standing next to her and smiled. He'd hoped she would like it.

"Well, what do you say?" he asked. She looked at him, her eyes gleaming.

"It's wonderful."

He leaned out of the window too. She tensed at his closeness.

"I'm glad you like it. This is a great spot to watch the sky." He observed her from the corners of his eyes.

"It sure is romantic," she said. Suddenly, she seemed a bit sad. "I wish I could show you the desert. It has very beautiful sunsets, too…"

"I could visit you sometimes?" he said. She slowly shook her head.

"That won't be the same. Being with you has become so natural, I don't think it'll ever be like it was before I met you."

She turned her head and saw how close they were. Their noses were almost touching, so she tilted her head a bit. Shikamaru looked at her in a way he had never looked at her before. And suddenly, he pressed his lips against hers.

She was surprised, but couldn't think too well. She gave in to her feelings, and leaned closer towards him. Somewhere in the back of her head, her mind was yelling, commanding her to stop because she was being a fool, but she ignored it.

He didn't know exactly what he was doing, but losing control like this felt kind of good. She tasted sweet, like strawberries. How very unlike her. He deepened the kiss, and to his relief she answered.

Slowly, he moved her away from the window. He wasn't planning on going there, but he led her to the bed. Instinct, probably, and she made it kind of hard for him to think. So he stroked her back and her hair and somehow got them on the bed. Everything was a haze.

Of course, Yoshino chose that moment to come in.

"Shikamaru, dinner is… Excuse me?!"

They both yanked their heads up in surprise, and quickly moved away from each other. Shikamaru turned very red. Temari looked from him to his mother, and back to him. Her lips moved, but she was lost for words. Then her mind kicked in again and she gasped. With wide eyes, she jumped to her feet and ran out of the room, past a very surprised Yoshino, and down the stairs. She grabbed her coat and ran out of the door, cursing, blushing and very confused.

"What's wrong with her?" Yoshino asked, still standing in the doorway. "What were you doing?"

Shikamaru absently touched his lips.

"I really don't know…'

She would never find out which part of her question was answered by that.

---

Sakura hurried to the door when she heard loud knocking. She opened it quickly and was surprised to see Temari.

"Back so soon?" she asked. "What happened, did he try to rape you?"

The girl stumbled inside and started to cry. Sakura slammed the door shut and grabbed Temari's shoulders.

"He didn't, right? What happened?!" She shook her friend.

Temari could only sob louder, and Sakura panicked. It was nothing like Temari to cry, she was always emotionally stable.

"Hey, calm down, okay? I'm here, everything's fine."

Temari took a few deep breaths and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry," she said, "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Sakura stated firmly. "You wouldn't cry for now reason. What did that bastard Shikamaru try to do to you?"

Temari looked at Sakura sadly.

"He kissed me."

"Why would you cry about that? You like him, don't you?"

Temari shook her head. "No, that's not the point. The problem is that he likes me, too! I can not and will not fall in love, but I don't want to hurt him. But I answered his kiss! How can I ever look him in the eyes again?" She sighed.

Sakura slowly nodded. "I think I understand…"

Temari smiled a little. "But," she said, suddenly threatening, "don't you ever tell anyone I cried!"

------------------------

A/N: These "romantic" scenes are so hard to write! I'm afraid they're very out of character, especially Temari. Kissing, crying, that's nothing like her... Well, I did my best...


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- What now, my love?**

Shikamaru slowly walked towards the entrance of the school. The sky was nice, though not as pretty as yesterday. He could always think better when he looked at the clouds, but this morning it was hard. What was he going to say to Temari? Why had she run away like that? Okay, they were both embarrassed, but that was no reason to flee away.

"Yo, Chouji," he greeted his friend. "Feeling better again?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Did I miss a lot yesterday?"

"Nah, only some fuss with Hinata, Naruto and Kiba."

"Oh. I guess Ino will tell me all about it, then."

Shikamaru smiled. They went to the lockers to get their books. He dumped history and English in his bag, but suddenly raised his head. He heard familiar voices, and saw Sakura's brightly colored figure entering the school. She was followed by Temari. He couldn't hear them well, but it sounded like Sakura was trying to convince Temari of something. But she kept shaking her head.

He quickly closed his locker and tried to catch Temari's eye. She saw him, and for a moment there was shock on her face. But then she turned her head away and pretended she hadn't seen him.

He didn't understand. Was a kiss really that bad? Had he gone too far, and accidentally hurt her? But why hadn't she told him to stop then?

He swung his bag over his shoulder and walked towards them.

"Hi," he greeted. Sakura nudged Temari, but she didn't look at him. Trying to suppress her blush, she said:

"Oh, Sakura, I have to return a book to the library. I'll see you in class." She turned around and walked away.

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes at Shikamaru.

"Eh, Sakura? Has Temari told you about yesterday?" he asked.

"A bit, I kind of heard what happened."

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Do you know why she won't speak to me?"

"I'm sorry, I promised not to tell anyone." Seeing Shikamaru's disappointed look, she added: "But… I think she's afraid. I don't know why, but it seems so."

"Hmm. Well, thanks."

"Have you seen Ino?" Sakura asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I believe she went to the canteen. I'll see you in class, then."

Sakura smiled, and he went after Temari. As he had expected, she was going to the library. He walked a little faster and caught up with her.

"Hey, Temari," he said. She seemed nervous, but kept looking before her.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, okay? I didn't want to scare you or something, I only thought you might… like me the way I like you…" He blushed, and didn't notice Temari quickly glancing at him.

"Listen, I understand if you don't feel that way, but please talk to me!"

She bit her lip and pulled her bag higher on her shoulder. At that moment, the bell rang. She quickly turned around and went into the direction of the classroom. Shikamaru sighed, mumbling something about troublesome women when he returned to Chouji.

---

Sakura said: "You're being childish."

Temari shook her head. "Am not."

"See?"

"Cut it out already!" she spat out, and slammed her book on the table.

"Jeez, don't get violent. I'd say you're really stressed."

Temari shot her a threatening glare, the glare the guys in Suna were all afraid of. Sakura didn't seem to be affected in the least, though. She opened her book and silently said:

"Temari?"

"What now?"

"Do you remember what I asked you yesterday, about…Sasuke?"

Temari wanted to slap herself. She had been so caught up in her own problems that she had completely forgotten about Sakura's.

"Eh, yeah, sure. You asked for help, but what can I do for you?"

"Well, I thought, if Hinata has been brave enough to tell Naruto she likes him, I might as well tell Sasuke how I feel…"

"You do realize that Hinata is heartbroken at the moment, do you?"

"Of course I do, but I won't be. I'm sure Sasuke will like me too." She went with her hand through her long pink hair, and Temari remembered what Shikamaru had said. She wasn't planning on getting heartbroken too, so she had to continue the ignoring. Even if it pained her.

She secretly glanced over her shoulder to see what he was doing. She could have guessed it, though. Resting his chin in his hand and staring out of the window. He looked sad, which wasn't strange. He liked her, but she ignored him. Any guy would be sad about that.

"I think you have to do what you think is wise," she said. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I already thought you'd say something like that," she smiled. "There's just no romance in you, is there?"

Temari shook her head. "No, I'm as harsh as the desert."

---

It was surprising, though, that Shikamaru still continued trying to get a reaction. When the lunch break came, he walked towards her and asked of she wanted to join him for lunch. She just looked past him and followed Sakura, but the pink-haired turned around and smiled mischievously.

"Of course we'd like to, Shikamaru," she said, but Temari grabbed her arm.

"No, we don't," and she dragged her to the girls' table. It was the first thing he heard from her mouth that day. Kiba came into the canteen, and nudged him.

"Welcome to the lonely hearts club, Nara," he said. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

Temari, too, suffered comments from others. Sakura was mad at her for ignoring Shikamaru, and kept making remarks that caused her to blush. Ino and the others had no idea what Sakura was talking about, though Tenten seemed to suspect something.

"Listen, Temari," Sakura said at last. "I don't care if you're going to confess or not, but I've had enough."

"You're not gonna…?" she asked alarmed.

"Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you." With that, she got to her feet and walked towards the boys' table. Temari watched her, and saw she was going to Sasuke. She asked something, and he shrugged. He got up and followed her to the hall.

Ino eyed them with slight jealousy, but mostly curiosity. Then she sighed dramatically and carried herself gracefully towards the guys' table.

"It's becoming crowded here," Kiba remarked as Ino let herself sink into Sasuke's now empty seat.

"Shut up," she shot back, and then leaned over the table.

"Shika-kun?"

Shikamaru looked up, terrified. "What the hell?"

"I just wondered…" she said, inspecting her nails, "Could you help me with bio? I guess Sakura's busy this afternoon…"

He shook his head. "No. I already have another appointment."

She narrowed her eyes and sharply said:

"Just for your information, I don't think Temari will visit you again today."

He rolled his eyes. "And just for _your_ information, I don't care."

She pouted and stood up again. When she passed Chouji, he said:

"I could help you?"

"No, thanks," she absently answered, and strode back to Hinata, Tenten and Temari.

Chouji looked at his friend, and he tiredly explained:

"It wasn't about homework. She doesn't need help with bio, she just wants attention."

"Oh," Chouji said. He vaguely wondered why she didn't want any attention from _him_, but he guessed he already knew the answer. He put another crisp into his mouth.

Just before the end of the lunch break, Sakura came back. Temari noticed a striking resemblance with Hinata. She bit her lip and sniffed. Ino immediately put an arm around her, and asked what happened. Sakura shook her head. Sasuke, too, came back, and cast an apologizing look at her. He sat down next to Naruto again, who looked at him inquisitive. But then, of course, the bell rang, and everyone got up. Lee walked towards Sakura.

"Are you all right?" She smiled at him.

"Sure, thanks," she said, and he looked at her sadly.

"I know you're not. But I won't press the point."

"Lee…" Temari remembered Sakura saying she thought Lee liked her. "Thank you."

Then they arrived at the classroom, and Yuuhi asked them to sit down and open their books.

---

"I can't believe I was so stupid!" Sakura cried. Temari patted her back, not really knowing what to say. All she wanted right now was call her brothers, creep in bed and think of Shikamaru. When they had left the school and she accidentally looked at him, she had turned away immediately.

"What's your problem?" he had asked. She pretended she didn't hear him.

"Temari, I'm sorry!"

Biting her lip, she had followed Sakura. Right now, the pink-haired girl's problems were more important than her own. After all, who knew what Sakura was planning? She seemed desperate.

So far, though, she'd only cried.

"Why did I say I loved him? He must think I'm an obsessed freak now!"

Temari sighed.

"If you're sorry about it, you should tell him."

Sakura looked up and slowly nodded. "Maybe I should…"

She stood up and threw her hair back, in a way that reminded Temari of Ino.

"I'm going to his house now. Temari, Ino is coming. Would you please let her in? I'll be right back."

"Sure. Good luck," she answered. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Sakura smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'm only going to apologize."

She got her coat, but laid it back again. The weather was nice, she wouldn't get cold. Temari watched her walking down the street, and went to the living room again.

She took her phone and dialed Kankuro's number, but then put it down again. The one she _really _wanted to talk with was Shikamaru, but that was impossible. She'd only hurt them both.

After a while, the doorbell rang. It sounded louder and longer than normal. She opened the door and got a strong feeling of déjà-vu.

Sakura stumbled inside, panting. Temari grabbed her shoulders and quickly asked:

"What's wrong?!"

Sakura leaned against the wall and put a hand to her forehead. She sighed deeply.

"It appears Sasuke has an older brother, Itachi."

"And? Did he try to rape you?" she asked jokingly, referring to the previous day.

Sakura looked at her with strange eyes.

"Not really. He tried to seduce me, I guess." She sighed deeply again.

"Man, I almost gave in. He's so handsome! But no, he was really trying to… Never mind."

Temari smiled relieved. For a moment she had been afraid something really bad had happened, but Sakura seemed to be okay.

Then the doorbell rang again. Sakura opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, Ino! Come in," she said. Ino immediately looked at Temari.

"You," she said. "I've had it."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Trouble**

"What?" Temari asked, surprised.

"The way you keep ignoring Shika!" Ino yelled.

"Shika? What the hell?"

"Shikamaru then! I just can't stand it anymore. Don't you know how much you're hurting him?!"

Temari turned away. "I know," she said.

"Then why do you continue?"

"Because," she hesitated. "Because if I don't, I'll hurt him even more."

"You're being unreasonable. He likes you! Don't be so egoistic." Ino sounded really mad.

"Then I am egoistic! I don't care, I just don't want to end up heartbroken like Hinata or Sakura."

Sakura looked up. She silently said: "But Temari, I really think that the only way you're heartbroken is this one. Even Hinata has it better than you right now."

Temari bit her lip.

"You don't understand. If I tell him I like him too, he'd be as happy as I want him to be. But I have to go back to Suna in a few weeks! What point is there in getting a relationship when it has to be ended right away?"

Ino crossed her arms. "You really shouldn't think so badly about Shikamaru. I'm sure he wouldn't care, even if you'd move to the other side of the world! He'd just wait until you'd come back."

Temari sighed. "Even if that is true, he shouldn't be waiting for me. He should just fall in love with a girl from here and be happy!"

Ino groaned. "Oh! You really are blind! He doesn't _want _another girl!"

Sakura raised her hands in defense. "Maybe we should let this case rest for a while. I wanted to make plans for next week. The girl's night with Tenten and Hinata is then, and I don't want any fights there."

Ino and Temari nodded. They went to the living room and soon Ino and Sakura were chatting happily again. Temari absently checked the time. Normally, she'd be with Shikamaru now. It surprised her how much she missed him. She had always thought she was incapable of caring about anyone, apart from her brothers. But now she was becoming good friends with Sakura, and even falling in love! The air in Konoha had to be doing things to her head.

And now Ino, the one Temari had always seen as quite shallow, turned out to be sincerely concerned about her friends. Of course she still was a drama queen, Temari observed as Ino was telling another story with much theatrical gestures and swaying of her hair, but maybe not as bad as before.

"Hey," Sakura said. "How about going to town? I need some new nail polish, and I've seen an awesome shade of purple somewhere!"

---

Someone knocked on the door.

"Shikamaru? Can I come in?"

Shikamaru mumbled something, and the door opened. His father came in and sat down on the bed. Shikamaru only turned his head around to acknowledge his presence, but continued lying on the bed.

"Really, son, what's up with you?" Shikaku asked. "You seem very upset about something."

"Hn."

"First you finally begin to use that brain of yours, and now you won't even answer me! Does this have something to do with that girl that was with you the other day?"

Now Shikamaru looked up. "What did mom tell you?"

"She told me that there was a friendly young lady keeping you company. I was wondering if she might be the source of your changes of attitude lately."

"Hm. Perhaps."

"I guess it is so, then. Funny, I never thought you'd fall for a foreigner."

"Dad, for your information, I haven't _fallen_. She just appeared to be smart, so I had to prove I was smarter. And I helped her with her homework a few times. That's all."

"I see. And why the depression now?"

He buried his face in the pillow and muttered something inaudible. His father smiled slightly.

"Ah, she doesn't like you the same way! Yes, Shikamaru, the road of life is a hard one, especially when it comes to love…"

He ruffled his son's hair and got up again. Closing the door, he said:

"If you need any advice, just ask. After all, your mother was hard to get, too!"

Shikamaru sighed.

"When will you adults stop seeing things that aren't there?"

But the door was already closed. Shikamaru groaned and sat up. He grabbed his bag and searched for his book. Opening it, he wondered what Temari would be doing now. He really missed her company. If he just hadn't been so stupid to kiss her…

But there was no use in crying. He threw his book away and straightened his clothes. Maybe he could go to town, see what the other guys were doing.

---

"Yo, Shikamaru! Long time no see!"

"Hey, Naruto."

Naruto grinned. "How's the Suna girl doing? Ouch!"

He winced when Sasuke hit him on his upper arm. The raven-haired boy glared at him and shook his head.

"Ow, yeah, I promised not to talk about that… Sorry…" Naruto said as he rubbed his shoulder. Shikamaru merely sighed and sat down beside Chouji. His friend looked at him.

"How're you doing?"

"As usual," he answered, and stretched his arms above his head. Leaning back against the wall, he asked:

"So, anything new?" The boys looked at each other.

"Hm, nothing really," Lee said. "Except that Kiba has managed to get a date with Hinata…"

"Oh, really? Congratulations," Shikamaru said. Kiba laughed.

"Don't jump to conclusions! We're only going to catch a movie, and maybe get a walk or something."

"You should take her to the park when the sun sets," Lee said. "I'm sure she'd love that."

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Yeah, you could do that, but never act too fast. Don't do something stupid like kissing her."

Suddenly, he found all eyes directed at him. "What?"

"What exactly happened between you and Temari?" Kiba asked. Shikamaru slapped his forehead.

"Man, are you gonna start too? We're just friends! At least we were, until I decided to act like an idiot. And now you see the result."

Everyone eyed him pitiful.

"Yeah, you look like crap," Naruto said sympathetic. Sasuke hit him again.

"Man, stop that!" Naruto yelled. "If I really annoy you that much, I'll just leave!"

He jumped to his feet and walked away. The others watched him, and Lee said:

"I'll get him back."

He got up too and went into the same direction as Naruto.

---

"No, it's not this one. This one's transparent and it has glitters. That's not the one I want!"

Ino sighed. "Why don't you go to that other shop then? Temari and I can wait here, I don't feel like walking all the way there."

Sakura nodded. "Okay, I'll see you at the snack bar then. Let's say we meet there in half an hour?"

"Okay," Temari said. She greeted Sakura, and then Ino dragged her away to show her some hair products.

Sakura went out of the store, and was surprised to see Naruto. He kicked against a soda can and seemed upset. She walked towards him.

"Hey, Naruto. What's up?"

"Oh, hey Sakura! Nothing really, the guys said I was annoying."

Sakura smiled. "Well, they might be right. Would you like to come with me to the chemist's? I need some new nail polish."

"Yeah, sure," he answered, a bit surprised. Together they walked across the street, and Sakura said:

"If we go through this alleyway, it's shorter." Naruto nodded.

As soon as they went around the corner, though, Sakura gasped. Two guys, a few years older than them, were leaning against the wall. They looked around and saw them. The dark-haired one smirked.

"Well, well. Look who we have here, Deidara."

The blonde cocked his head. "Isn't that your little brother's fangirl, hm?"

"How do you know these guys?" Naruto asked Sakura. "Isn't that Sasuke's brother?"

"Never mind," Sakura answered, looking at him with wide eyes. "We have to get away."

"Oh no," Itachi said. "You're not going anywhere."

He approached Sakura and whispered: "No one turns me down and gets away with that."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "Leave Sakura alone!"

Itachi shot him a threatening glare. "Shut up."

Naruto gulped. The blond one, Deidara, looked at him. He seemed amused.

"Should I take care of him, Itachi?"

"Whatever you want," the Uchiha answered, still circling around Sakura. The girl clenched her fist. "Leave us alone," she hissed.

"No," Itachi simply said, as he pressed her against the wall.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled, but Deidara pulled at his collar and yanked him away. Just as Sakura was about to scream, someone else entered the alleyway. "My, my, it sure is getting crowded in here…" Itachi said.

"What do you think you are doing?" Lee asked, crossing his arms.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- Healing hearts.**

"Lee!" Sakura yelled. "Get away from here!"

Lee shook his head. "No." He turned to Itachi. "I don't know who you are, but I won't allow you to hurt Sakura."

Itachi laughed. "As if you could stop me."

Lee didn't answer, but drew his hand back. He clenched his fist and leaped forwards. Itachi had not expected that and got punched in his stomach. He let go of Sakura and fell backwards. Leaning against the wall, he coughed. "Damn you…"

He got to his feet again and tried to get back at Lee, but the boy duck under his arm and hit him again, this time on his jaw. Sakura screamed. Itachi wiped his mouth and glared at them with burning eyes, but at that moment they heard a loud bang. Everything disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura carefully moved along the wall, trying to get out of the smoke. Suddenly, her fingers brushed against the cloth of a shirt. She held her breath, but the owner of the shirt took her hand. She sighed in relief; it was Lee.

Meanwhile, Deidara bumped into Itachi. He yelled:

"Let's leave! These guys are irritating, hm!"

Itachi wanted to protest, but the blonde grabbed his arm. He swept him along and ran off.

Slowly, the smoke disappeared, and Naruto, Lee and Sakura could see each other again.

Naruto coughed loudly. "Bastard used bombs!" Then he saw Sakura and Lee holding hands and raised an eyebrow.

Sakura looked at Lee, her eyes gleaming.

"Lee, you saved us! Thank you!"

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Lee looked very surprised, and clumsily patted her back. Naruto grinned and winked.

When Sakura let go of Lee again, he said: "Let's get back."

Naruto nodded, and Sakura mused: "You have to admit, life has gotten quite interesting lately…"

---

"Look, there's Sakura," Ino said. Temari looked up from the conditioner and saw the pink-haired girl walking together with two guys from their class. The loud blonde and the sporty strange one, Naruto and Lee were their names, if she remembered correctly.

Sakura waved to them and entered the shop again.

"Hi guys. Did you miss me?"

"Yeah, we barely managed to survive," Temari laughed. Ino asked:

"What nail polish did you buy?"

"Oh," Sakura absently said, "I guess purple isn't my color after all…" She turned around and grabbed the first bottle she saw.

"Here, I'll take the green one."

Ino shrugged. "If that's what you want… It matches your eyes, anyway."

Temari wisely hold back her comments.

"Hey, Naruto and Lee told me the guys are in town too. Wanna go see them?"

"Sure!" Ino dragged Temari out of the shop before she could protest. If the guys were here, that would mean Shikamaru was too! She tried to get away, but Ino wouldn't let go of her arm.

"Hey, take it easy! I won't run away!" Temari said, and Ino grinned at her devilishly.

"I don't believe you…" she sing-songed. Her eyes flickered. Temari gulped.

---

Naruto and Lee walked back to the wall the others were sitting at.

"Hello! I brought him back!" Lee happily exclaimed. Naruto sat down next to Sasuke again. Lee continued:

"We met Sakura in town, she said she'd come in a minute. She would bring Ino and Temari."

Shikamaru looked up, and saw all eyes directed at him again. "What?!"

Kiba grinned. "I wonder if she's still going to ignore you..."

Shikamaru shrugged, and said: "Even if she would, that's her problem."

Neji shook his head. "You are a terrible liar, Shikamaru."

He wanted to deny, but was interrupted by Sakura's voice. "Lee!"

Lee looked around when he heard his name. He smiled and waved. Sakura ran towards him and laughed. "Hello, my knight in shining armor."

Everyone who had been looking at Shikamaru now turned to Lee. Sasuke's mouth even fell open.

"What did you do to her?" Kiba asked, astonished.

"He saved me," Sakura said. Lee added. "She got into some trouble, and I got her out."

Naruto nodded. "I can confirm that," he said. "Lee was just in time. It was your brother again, Sasuke."

Sasuke clenched his fist. "I swear, if he continues like this, I'm gonna kill him one day…"

They were silent for a moment. Then Chouji nudged Shikamaru. "There she comes."

Ino and Temari walked towards them, Ino holding Temari's arm. She tried to pull it loose, but apparently didn't manage to do so. Ino only released her grip when they were standing in front of the boys.

"Hi!" Ino said, smiling innocently. "How're you all doing?"

Shikamaru stood up. "Temari," he said. Temari carefully avoided his eyes and turned to Sakura.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go. I eh… haven't finished my homework yet."

"But we don't have any homework at all!" Sakura said. Temari didn't answer though. She turned around and walked away. Sakura cast an apologizing look at Shikamaru, who was dumbfounded. Then she looked at Sasuke.

"I'm sorry for yesterday," she said. "Please forget everything I said."

Sasuke raised one corner of his mouth. "It's okay," he said.

Suddenly, Shikamaru slammed his fist against the wall. "Damn it all!" He turned around and ran after Temari. Naruto sighed. "Jeez, that was about time," he stated. "Wanna bet how long it'll take before they return together?"

---

"Temari! Hey, Temari, wait up!" She heard it, but pretended she didn't. What was she going to do? If he really persisted, she wouldn't be able to ignore him. And her heart beat so damn loud… She passed shops and restaurants, crossed the street and quickly went around a corner. In vain, though.

He caught up with her and reached for her shoulder. "Temari, please…"

She shook off his hand and continued walking. She didn't know where she was going, she only tried to get rid of him. Going around another corner, she found herself trapped. This alley had a dead end.

"Temari!" she heard behind her. She groaned and turned around, glaring.

"What the hell do you want?!"

"You," he said. To her surprise there were tears in his eyes. She felt all her anger melting away. He sounded so sincere and desperate.

"Temari, please listen to me. I can't stand it anymore! If you're upset or hurt, please tell me, but please don't pretend I don't exist!"

She was silent, but looked into his eyes. He continued talking, not knowing what else to do.

"I don't really know what to say if you don't like me, but I just want you to know that I really lo… like you." He looked away, blushing. There were still tears in his eyes.

"Shikamaru…" To his surprise, she had said something. She silently continued:

"I'm so sorry for hurting you. I really don't know what's happening to me."

He raised his hand and carefully touched her cheek. "Just let it happen."

"I can't!" she said, sharper than she had meant. "I'm so sorry… But I have to go back to Suna once, and what will you do then?"

He smiled. "I'll wait for you, or I come after you. And you can come back to Konoha, too."

"That's just wishful thinking."

"So what if it is? I want to be in your presence, talk with you, and maybe kiss you again. I don't care if you're going to leave me eventually, 'cause I'm sure we'll find a way to get back together! It's not the most important thing right now."

"I know. I'm just making a fool of myself. But it's still so difficult! I'm not used to this feeling…"

"I can help you. It's strange for me too." He still caressed the side of her face. She leaned into his touch. "I lo- like you too," she finally admitted. His smile widened, and suddenly she threw her arms around him. He embraced her, and she whispered:

"You're really a crybaby." But she couldn't say more, because of his lips covering hers. And this time, it really was what she wanted, so she answered with passion.

---

"Oh! There they are again!" Ino exclaimed. Temari and Shikamaru came walking towards them, both blushing a little. Sakura smiled.

"You guys made up again?" she asked. Temari nodded.

Naruto clapped his hands. "Hand me my money, Kiba!" he demanded.

"Hmpf," the boy mumbled, and threw some coins to Naruto's head. "Hey!" the blonde yelled. Shikamaru laughed.

"Hey Chouji, I heard you had a good mark for biology lately," Ino said. "Could you help me with my homework? I just don't get the part about cell division."

"Sure," Chouji said, happily surprised. Ino smiled at him.

Neji stood up. "It's getting late," he said. "I'm going home."

He raised his hand in a greeting, and Kiba said: "Say hi to Hinata from me!"

Naruto poked him in his ribs. "You sure act fast! I'm glad she's not sad anymore."

"And I'm glad you two aren't fighting anymore," Sakura said, and added:

"Ino, Temari, how about we leave too?"

"Okay," Ino said, and Sakura said goodbye to Lee. Temari leaned towards Shikamaru. She brought her mouth close to his ear, and whispered in a low, sultry voice:

"I'll see you again tomorrow. Sweet dreams, honey…"

She smiled at him and followed Sakura and Ino. Shikamaru blinked and absently touched his ear. Naruto whistled, "Woohoo!" and Kiba hit him on his head.

Shikamaru sighed. "What a woman…"


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- Happy endings.**

Sakura closed the fridge. She checked her watch and turned to the living room. "Food's ready! What about you?" she asked.

"Not yet!" Ino yelled. "Temari's being stubborn again!"

Sakura walked over to them and sighed. "What is it now?"

Temari shrugged. "Nothing. Ino wants to see some cheesy romantic comedy, and I don't."

"She wants that Chinese action movie, can you believe it?" Ino sounded truly baffled.

Temari glared at her, and Sakura grabbed the pile of movies from their hands. She dumped them on the table and said:

"We'll decide when the others are here. Just don't let Tenten choose, she always goes for horror."

Ino shivered. "I still haven't forgotten last time! I had nightmares for three days…"

Temari raised an eyebrow. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Sakura hurried to the door, and came back with Hinata and Tenten.

"Hi guys!" Tenten said, and Hinata waved.

Sakura went to the kitchen and brought a few bags of sweets and crisps. Tenten took two bottles out of her bag. "Here, the drinks," she said. Hinata sat down on the couch and greeted Temari.

"How are you?" she asked. Temari grinned. "Couldn't be better."

Hinata smiled, understanding. Tenten fell down on the couch too.

"Yeah, it seems like everything's perfect with you and Shikamaru, isn't it?" she said. Temari blushed, and Tenten cocked her head. "I still don't get what you see in him, though… He's completely different from you."

Ino set down some glasses on the table. "You're not really one to talk, Tenten." The girl shrugged. "Like you could say that! You're spending a lot of time with Chouji lately…"

Ino turned red. "We're just doing homework together!"

Tenten smirked. "Yeah, biology huh? The _practical_ part?" Ino attempted to hit her.

"Anyway, how're you and Kiba doing?" Temari asked Hinata, ignoring the ruckus caused by the other girls.

"We're okay," she said. "I'm just going along, I'll see where it goes. I can see he really likes me, though. I wonder why…"

"You shouldn't think like that. But what about you? Do you like him too?" Temari asked. Hinata tapped her lip.

"Kiba is nice. I don't think I'll ever feel the same for him as I did for Naruto, but he is very sweet. We have a lot of fun together. I think I can fall in love with him eventually, but right now, I'm still letting it grow."

Temari slowly nodded. "Well, we'll see," she said. Tenten shoved Ino aside and sighed loudly. "You're all such drama queens! Hey, Sakura, which movies do you have?"

Sakura pointed to the pile on the table, and Tenten started sorting the films. Ino sat next to her, commenting on every movie. Soon it turned out that everyone wanted something else. Ino remained by her romantic comedy, Sakura wanted something a bit more dramatic, Temari still insisted on the martial arts and Tenten indeed proved to have a thing for horror. In the end, they let Hinata choose. She picked a fantasy film, which held enough romance, adventure and fights to keep everyone satisfied.

When Hinata, Sakura and Ino were all caught up in the story, Tenten turned to Temari. She silently said: "Hey, Temari?"

"What's it?" Temari answered.

"I wanted to ask you something…"

"Well, spill it."

Tenten bit her lip. "How do you… do that with boys?"

"What do you mean?"

"I never know how to act around boys I like, but you seem to know perfectly how to handle Shikamaru. How do you do that?"

Temari laughed. Ino tore her eyes away from the screen and looked at them.

"Really, Tenten," she said, "if there's anyone who doesn't know how to handle guys, it's Temari."

Temari nodded. "Before I came here, the only boys I ever talked to were my brothers. My school was very strict, too."

Tenten looked at her in disbelief. "Really? You seem so sure of yourself."

"It's all just an act. I was very unsure, and it took Shikamaru ages before I admitted I like him. But I'm happy I did, now."

The sleepover went by, and Temari liked it. She would never have thought that. But then again, she hadn't though she would be happy in a romantic relationship. It surprised her, but she really was. The days went by in bliss, she was just completely content. Of course, there was the approaching danger of separation, but she had decided she would enjoy every bit of it, as long as it lasted.

---

The day had a nice routine now. Wake up, have breakfast with Sakura, go to school, go to Shikamaru's house, have lunch with Shikamaru, go back to Sakura's house, eat dinner there, go to bed. One day, when Kankuro called her, she just told him.

"Kissing is fun."

He had not liked to hear that and wanted to take the first airplane to Konoha. Luckily, she had talked him out of it. He was still very protective of her though, and started calling her on the strangest moments. The day after the girls' night, she and Shikamaru were lying on his bed, reading. Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She opened it.

"Sabaku no Temari."

"Hey, Kankuro here. Where are you?"

She sighed. "I'm lying in next to Shikamaru, in his bed."

"What?!"

"Wanna speak to him? Here he is…" She handed her cell phone to Shikamaru, who carefully took it, as if it might blow up. The phone wouldn't, but Kankuro very likely would.

"Hello?"

"Are you Nara Shikamaru, currently lying next to my sister?"

"Eh… yes."

"You better start writing your will right now." Kankuro sounded threatening, but Shikamaru smirked.

"What use is a will if I don't have any heirs? Don't worry; I'll take care of that right now."

Kankuro let out a prehistoric cry, and Shikamaru closed the phone.

Temari raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I have to say that I'm not completely ready to give birth to a baby."

He laughed. "We can adopt," and then he kissed her.

---

When she was back at Sakura's house, she decided she could better call home again before Kankuro killed somebody.

But it wasn't Kankuro who took the phone. She heard her youngest brother's slow, sleepy voice: "Sabaku no Gaara."

"Hey Gaara, Temari here. How's Kankuro doing?"

"He yelled something about you being abused by some Konoha bastard and went to his room to sharpen his teeth. I think he's turning his old dolls into weapons now."

Temari laughed. "Please tell him there's nothing to worry about, I'm perfectly fine."

"Okay." Gaara paused. "What is it like?" he asked then. "Love."

"It's heaven. I didn't think I'd be so happy, but now I want nothing more than to be with him."

"So you don't want to come back to Suna."

"Of course I want to go back! Suna is my home!"

"You don't sound as if you mean it." Temari bit her lip. It was scary how easy Gaara saw through people.

"But, what would you guys do without me?" she said. "I can't leave you two alone."

She heard him smile. "We're able to live without you." Then he suddenly changed the topic. "I've read something funny about a foreign poet. He wrote plays, and in one of them a daughter says to her dad that she will love him with all her heart, until she meets a man she loves more than him. The father gets angry and his daughter is killed, but then he realizes that she was the one that loved him in the most honest way."

"That's so sad! It does sound like something you would read… But why are you telling me this?"

"It's like you and us. Except that Kankuro isn't your father."

Temari smiled, and then said: "Hey, speaking about fathers, how's dad doing?"

Gaara's voice immediately dropped at least an octave. "He's got a new girlfriend. Hardly ever at home anymore. But," and his voice rose a little again, "one of the teachers is teaching us how to cook. It's very useful."

Temari laughed. "Baki, I guess?"

"Yeah. He's okay. So you don't have to worry that we can't take care of ourselves."

"I know," she sighed. "But I'm still coming back. Gotta finish school first."

"Okay, whatever you wish. I'm gonna tell Kankuro you're fine now."

"Thanks. See ya!"

She put down the phone and tugged at her ponytails. There was a reason she always wore those purple beads. Sakura had asked her, but she had shrugged. She hadn't even told Shikamaru, but her hair ties were her most precious possession. She had got them for her sixteenth birthday, the left one from Gaara, the right one from Kankuro. She'd wore them ever since, it was like her brothers were always with her then. But how would she keep Shikamaru with her? It would be impossible for her to live without a reminder of their time together, but asking him to give her something would sound so childish.

She sighed. It was better not to think of the upcoming departure. She still had a few weeks, and she would not ruin them by being sad.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12- The last dance.**

The harder Temari tried not to think about it, the faster the last week approached. Before she knew it, she was searching her clothes back together and packing her suitcase. It was hard.

The last day at school, she closed her locker and returned the key to the janitor. Shikamaru was waiting in the hall, and together they walked towards the exit. But then Temari heard her name. She turned around and saw Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Hinata.

"What's up?" she asked.

Sakura grinned. "We're throwing you a party!"

"To say goodbye," Ino added. "Hinata offered to use her house for it."

"And her parents didn't mind," Tenten said. Hinata only nodded.

Temari was surprised. "Wow, that's great! You really shouldn't have done that."

"Oh, we had a great time with you!" Ino said. "It's gonna be lovely, tomorrow at eight at Hinata's."

"Thanks, guys," Temari said, smiling widely. The others went their way, and she and Shikamaru walked to his house. She could dream the route now.

When they entered Shikamaru's room, Temari fell down on his bed and sighed.

"I'm gonna miss this so much…"

Shikamaru looked at her strangely. He sat down on his bed too, pulled her close and held her tightly. She leaned her head against his chest. "I don't want you to go…" he said, and Temari saw tears in his eyes. He cringed at the sound of his words, sounding like a spoiled child. But she reached for his face and brushed away his tears.

"I know. I don't like it either. I think that from now on, my heart will be ripped into two pieces. When I'm in Suna, I'll miss you, and when I'm here I miss Suna."

"It's just not fair. Why did I have to fall for you again?"

She stuck out her tongue. "You convinced me to go with you, remember?"

He smiled. "I should ask for a strand of your hair now, or your handkerchief."

She laughed and said: "You really don't want to have my hair! And I don't have a handkerchief either. I could give you something else…" She thought for a moment, and then tugged at his ears. He wore thin silver rings in them.

"You always wear these earrings, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

She went to her own ears and carefully took out the small buds she wore in them.

"Here, try these."

Shikamaru frowned. "It's good they're not too girly," he said, and removed his rings. Temari took them and put them in her own ears. He put hers in, and Temari grinned.

"Hey, they're not so bad! Let's keep it this way," she said. Shikamaru nodded.

"It's nice to have a reminder of you when you're gone," he said. Temari didn't answer, only leaned against him again. Her voice sounded thick when she spoke:

"Earrings, ponytail, lazy as hell… I really wonder how I ended up falling in love with you. My father wanted me to take some businessman in suit, and look what I got! The ideal son-in-law you are, for sure."

He smiled a little. "Well, my parents like you. My mother talks about you every day. They're gonna miss you too."

She turned around and placed a little, innocent kiss on his lips. He answered it by leaning forwards and pressing her against the bed. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him again, much more passionate this time.

When she really couldn't hold her breath any longer, she pushed him away and gasped for oxygen. "You sure are straightforward!"

He laughed. "Damn, I really like you." Then he looked serious again. He sat up straight and said: "Hey, Temari, listen. I don't want this to end as soon as you're back in Suna. I don't want to forget about you, and I don't want to let this be for nothing. There has to be a way to be together, even if it's not today."

She nodded slowly. "Well, in a year or so we'll graduate from high school, and when the results are good we can go to a University. If you promise to do your best for graduation so you can go to there, I promise to do so too and to come to the University here in Konoha. Then we'll be together for a much longer time."

"But graduation's still so far away!"

"I know. But it's the least we can think of for now."

"Okay," he said, and held out his hand. She took it, and felt the flames in her stomach again. She was used to them now, though. Shikamaru said:

"I solemnly promise to do my best at graduation, and to go to the Konoha University. I also promise to call you very often, so that you won't forget about me either!"

Temari answered. "I solemnly promise to go to the Konoha University after I graduate from high school in Suna. I promise I will always take the phone when I see it's you, so that you won't have to miss me."

"Till death do us part." Shikamaru added. Temari smiled.

---

Later that day Ino, Sakura and Temari were all gathered in Sakura's bedroom to dress up for the party. Sakura looked gorgeous, although her hair clashed horribly with the red ribbon she wore in it. Short white skirt with black leggings, red top, boots. Ino was just as pretty in a tight blue dress, her hair in a high ponytail.

Temari sighed.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing," she quickly answered. "It's just that you two look so good, I really feel… dull."

"Well," Ino said, "you could start with getting your hair out of those pigtails."

Temari tugged at her hair. Sakura saw her slightly shocked look and glared at Ino.

"What?" the blonde said. "It's true that she always wears 'em like that!"

"You're right," Temari said. "But I'm so used to them…"

Ino walked around her and said: "Let me help you."

She pulled the ties out of Temari's hair and took a brush from the table. As she went through Temari's hair, she complained:

"Jeez! What have you been _doing _to it? I've never seen hair so unmanageable! Even Tenten has it better…"

"If you go on like that you might be complaining about _yours_ soon," Temari gritted between her clenched teeth. "This hurts y'know." She turned the purple beads around between her fingers as Ino went through another tangle. After a few minutes, the blonde wiped her forehead.

"Done!" she said. Sakura laughed. "You're really exaggerating, Ino."

Temari carefully touched her hair. It did feel softer and smoother, and it had no more knots and tangles. She had never really cared, but it was pretty nice this way.

"Here," Ino said, and took the hair ties from Temari's hands. "You can still use these, but make it a bit happier, like this!" She fiddled some more with Temari's hair.

"Shikamaru's earrings do look good on you," she mentioned. Temari stiffened, and was surprised again that Ino had noticed. She was completely different than what she looked like. "Thanks," she said. Ino finished her hair and shoved her to the mirror.

Temari laughed. Her hair was still falling over her shoulders, but with two small pigtails on each side of her head. It looked quite nice.

"Okay," Sakura said, "now if you wear that purple shirt and that dark blue skirt, you'll…"

"But that's really short! The skirt, I mean."

"So? You got nice legs, you should show them!"

"I don't know…"

"Just try it, and judge then. I think it'll be great."

Temari got into the clothes. Purple was her favorite color, but she was still unsure about the skirt. Until she saw herself in the mirror again.

"Wow! You're right, this looks nice," she said to Sakura. Ino grinned.

"You should be proud of your body, not hide it. Shikamaru's gonna be jealous, no one will be able to keep his eyes off you!" Temari blushed, and the others laughed.

Later, at Hinata's house, it appeared Ino had not been quite right. Shikamaru did not become jealous of everyone, everyone became jealous of him.

"Whoa, Shika!" Naruto elbowed him in his ribs. "If I had seen her like this before I might've hit it before you did!" Shikamaru glared at him.

"Idiot," Sasuke commented. "You're not going to get any girl, ever."

"Why are you so sure of that?" Temari asked, as she came standing next to Shikamaru. Sasuke didn't answer, and Temari raised her eyebrows. Shikamaru said:

"He had a good chance with Hinata, but I guess that's over now," and he pointed to the spot where the girl was standing and chatting with Kiba, Neji and Tenten. Temari saw what he meant; Kiba and Hinata were a little to busy with each other to participate in the conversation, to say the least.

"I'm happy for Hinata," she said. "She needed him more than she thought, I guess."

"He's liked her for a long time," Shikamaru said. "I'm curious to see if he can make her forget Naruto."

"I hope so," Temari said. "Well, not everything is how you foresaw it to be, is it?"

"I guess so. At least there are no broken hearts that I know of, and that's a good thing."

They got something to drink and watched the people dancing to the music. It was quite funny to see Ino teaching Chouji how to dance. Lee, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were hanging in a corner, and Sasuke's look became darker every minute as Sakura told him something about her brother. At one point he even grabbed her shoulders and she was startled, which brought him a threatening look from Lee. But Sakura laughed and brushed it off.

"Come," she said, and tugged at Lee's sleeve. "Dance."

Sasuke went away to talk with Neji, leaving Naruto in a conversation with Hinata's little sister. Hanabi was her name, wasn't it? Temari couldn't think much longer about it, because the last dance was announced. Shikamaru held out his hand, and she smiled and took it.

They moved slowly on the dance floor, and when the music had already stopped, they still didn't let go of each other. Sakura had to tap her on her shoulder before Temari snapped out of her dream, and she sadly let go of Shikamaru's hand. They went to the hall to get their coats, and Hinata opened the door for them. Temari thanked her extensively, and Hinata beamed.

When Sakura, Temari and Shikamaru stood outside, Temari tugged at Shikamaru's coat.

"Will you be at the airport tomorrow?" she asked silently.

"I'll try," he said. She knew he hated getting up early.

"Okay." He squeezed her hand, and she stood on her tiptoes to peck him on his cheek. Then she followed Sakura, not looking back. He watched her leave and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a very hard day for sure.


	14. Interlude

**Interlude- Hello, goodbye**

"Attention, passengers for Suna, Wind Country. Your plane is leaving in twenty minutes, please go to gate D4. I repeat, the plane for Suna, Wind Country is leaving in twenty minutes from gate D4."

The metallic voice of the intercom echoed through the large halls. Temari hauled her bags higher on her shoulder.

"I really gotta go now," she said. Sakura and her parents had brought her to the airport, and Shikamaru had joined them at the last minute. He was currently staring at the departing airplanes, as if there was nothing else to do.

"Bye," said Sakura. "We'll write very often, you got my mail address, right?"

"Yeah, I got it." Temari said, and Sakura embraced her. She still smelt like strawberries. Temari turned to Sakura's parents and shook their hands. "I can't thank you enough for your hospitality," she said. Sakura's mother brushed it off. "Oh, it was no problem dear. We hope you had a great time."

"I absolutely did," Temari said. Then at last she looked at Shikamaru.

"Goodbye," she said.

"Bye," was his answer.

"You've got my phone number, haven't you?"

"Of course." He scratched his head. "Man, I really hate goodbyes."

Temari didn't answer. She clutched her bag and looked at the ground. Unsure again, just like before. Hadn't she changed at all then? Everyone said she had gotten so much more spontaneous and impulsive in these few months, the teachers even found her bold. And now she was staring at her feet again because she couldn't say goodbye. She yanked up her head and threw her arms around him. He was taken by surprise a little, but returned the embrace.

"_Adios, querido_," she silently whispered. Farewell, my beloved. He kissed her lips.

When they parted, he said:

"I'm not going to run after you, because I'm too lazy for that and I think it's too cliché. I'm not gonna ask you to call me as soon as you arrive, because I'm sure you'll want to greet your family first. I'll just wait until I miss you."

"I know. That's why I like you," she said, and managed a smile. She turned around and walked towards the gate. She entered the long passageway with the small windows, putting back her passport in her pocket. She peeked out of every window she passed, and every time the others were further away from her. Finally, when she reached the last, slightly larger window, she stood still and watched them walk away. Sakura and her parents turned around a corner, but Shikamaru stopped and looked over his shoulder. He saw her, and raised his hand. She waved back. He opened his mouth and she read the goodbye, Temari from his lips.

"Goodbye, Shikamaru," she whispered, and then abruptly turned around and walked up the stairs to the plane. When she finally had found her seat and stared down at the masses below, she couldn't even find Sakura's pinkness anymore. She brought her hand to her ears and felt the thin silver rings. The airplane set off and she took one last look at Konoha, the place where she had had such a great time. She was going back to Suna. She was going back home.

But once, she would be back here, and then nothing would separate her from Shikamaru. She was sure of that.


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- Home sweet home  
**

Temari checked her watch for the last time, and called her brothers.

"Gaara! Kankuro! We really got to hurry now!"

They hurried towards her, Kankuro dragging Gaara along. Temari sighed.

"No matter how interesting everything is, the plane is leaving in a few minutes. Come on, let's go." They followed her to the gate.

Once again, she entered the airplane and looked for her seat. Luckily it was close to a window. Kankuro sat down next to her and said:

"You must be exciting about going back. I remember you were full of stories when you returned, that place really had impact on you."

She nodded. "Yeah. So much happened there! I can't wait to be back again."

"I hope you realize that a lot can change in a year. Maybe it'll be all very different than you remember."

"Could be," she shrugged, "but I've had regular contact with Sakura and Shikamaru, and they told me the most important things."

"Okay. Hah, I really wonder what it'll be like! Studying in Konoha, at a university nonetheless… Who would've ever thought I'd do that?"

"Well, you and studying surely never crossed my mind!" Temari laughed.

Gaara was finally finished with scaring away the stewardesses, and said in his slow voice:

"Temari, could you tell me about the place we're going?"

Kankuro let out a muffled sigh. "She's told you a hundred times already!"

"Oh, I don't mind," Temari smiled. She started telling her youngest brother about her time in Konoha again, and he was, like always, fascinated by the things she described. Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Really, Gaara, you shouldn't listen to her stories. You know she only loves that place so much because her so-called _boyfriend_ lives there."

Temari turned red and glared at him. "That's not true!"

"Oh yes it is," Kankuro grinned.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Gaara stared out of the window, ignoring his quarreling siblings. They had a nice view on the clouds from here. According to Temari, the person she loved liked to watch clouds. He would try that, too. Who knew? It might be relaxing.

---

Hours later, Kankuro shook his brother awake.

"Hey, Gaara! We're here!" Gaara's eyes opened, and he looked around surprised. Temari grinned at him.

"Come on, sleepy-head," she said, and went towards the exit. Gaara and Kankuro followed her. As soon as they were outside, Temari smiled. She was back again.

---

Hauling their heavy suitcases, the three Sand siblings tried to get through the crowd. Which wasn't easy with that much luggage. Kankuro roughly pushed people aside, Temari quickly apologized, and Gaara just followed them without comments.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the airport, Temari heard her name. She looked around and dropped her bags. She knew that voice!

She quickly ran towards the small group of people, where one pink-haired head stood out brightly. Sakura laughed when Temari threw her arms around Shikamaru without further hesitating. The boy smiled and closed his eyes. Contented he noticed she still smelled the same, a bit warmer though.

"Welcome back, Temari," he said. She looked up at him.

"Gee, you sure grew a lot!" she said. He laughed.

"Glad to see you too!" She smiled. Then she turned to Sakura.

"Where'd your hair go?" she asked, seeing how short it was now. Sakura tugged at it.

"Oh, I decided to cut it some time ago. Still love the color, though," she winked. There were some black stripes in her hair now, as well as multi-colored beads. Temari grinned.

"Ino!" she greeted the last member of the welcome-committee, and the blonde smiled.

"It's great that you're back," she said. "Things have been very boring since you went away… Haven't they, Shika?" She jabbed her friend, and he grimaced.

"I guess," he said. Temari turned around and picked up her bags again. Then she pointed to her brothers, who had followed her and now looked at the persons they had heard so much about. "Guys, these are my brothers: Gaara and Kankuro."

Hands were shaken, and Kankuro shot Shikamaru a threatening glare.

"I'll be watching you," he said, and Shikamaru smirked. "Watch and learn," he answered. "Oh, you guys!" Temari exclaimed. "Just try to get along, okay?"

They both looked at her and smiled. "Sure!" Then they continued their staring battle. Temari sighed and Sakura tapped her on her shoulder.

"Leave them," she said, "that's how boys are. But let's go now. We managed to get a taxi that's big enough for all of us!"

Temari laughed, and they went to the exit.

---

In the taxi, Temari was stuffed between Shikamaru and Ino, with Kankuro on the other side of the blonde girl, and Gaara and Sakura next to Shikamaru. Kankuro was pretty pissed off because he couldn't reach Shikamaru, but there was nothing for him to worry about anyway. Shikamaru told her the latest developments; apparently there was some trouble with Sasuke. Sakura's face dropped when he mentioned her former crush, and she said:

"Naruto is really upset about it…"

"Looks like you're too," Temari said. "What exactly happened?"

"Well, almost everyone from our class has come to the Konoha University, and most of us live there on the campus. But Sasuke decided he didn't want to study with us, so he accepted a job by some big company. Naruto was mad about it, but well, he didn't want to change his mind."

Shikamaru sighed. "It's all so troublesome…"

Temari poked him in the side and grinned. "You haven't changed a bit."

He stretched out his hand and tugged at one of her ponytails. "Neither did you." Then he noticed the thin silver rings in her ears.

"You're still wearing them!"

"Of course I am," she said. "What about you?" He turned his head and she saw that her old buds were still in his ears. Kankuro laughed.

"Hah, of all the men she could get, she chose a lazy guy with earrings, and a ponytail to make it complete! You sure have a good taste, Temari!"

His sister kicked his shin, and he shut up. Not for long though, because Ino seemed to be quite interested in him. Soon they had an animated conversation, and because Shikamaru and Temari were only interested in each other, Sakura tried to talk with Gaara.

"And, what do you think of Konoha?" she asked.

He looked at her expressionless. "It's okay," he said. "Though I haven't seen very much of it yet."

She smiled. He had a slight accent, more so than Temari, but not as bad as his brother. "Yeah, that's true. But I'm sure you'll like it here, after all, Temari did too and she was very unsure in the beginning!"

"I know. She has told me a lot about this place."

"I guess so, she was really sad when she left. What are you going to study, by the way?"

"Geology."

"Oh, cool. I'm doing Medical Science. Ino is going to start Psychology, she wanted Medics too but she failed her entrance exam." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Shikamaru studies Mathematics. What about your brother? I know what Temari is going to do, but I haven't spoken to Kankuro yet."

"Kankuro's doing Mechanical Engineering."

"Aha." There was a long silence, only interrupted by Ino's animated voice and an occasional grumble from Kankuro when Shikamaru came too close to Temari.

"So…" Sakura said. "How're you doing, otherwise?"

He shrugged. "Could be worse." And he continued to stare out of the window. Sakura gave up and sank back against her seat again.

---

Soon they arrived at the housing accommodation of the university, and the trouble with the suitcases began again. Luckily a few of the guys Temari still knew from her first time here saw them arrive, and were quick to help. It seemed that Sakura had gotten quite popular, almost on the same level as Ino.

"Lee!" Temari greeted the boy, and he grinned. "Welcome back, Temari."

Kiba and Hinata followed after him, and Hinata greeted Temari warmly. She was quite surprised by this, what had she ever done for the girl? But she smiled and greeted back.

"Still together?" she asked. Kiba nodded, and Hinata started to beam.

Because Shikamaru simply refused to carry Temari's bag (which resulted in a scolding from Ino), Lee showed him "how a gentleman should behave". He lifted up all the suitcases and carried them to the rooms of their respective owners. Temari was amazed by the space of the buildings. Everyone who lived on the campus had his own room, and although most of the students were in lodgings in town, there were still hundreds of people housed in the university. The rooms were situated in long corridors, and there was one building for women and one for men. Kankuro and Gaara had their rooms next to each other, Chouji lived at the same corridor as Shikamaru, and Ino, Temari and Sakura were housed close to each other as well.

After Ino and Sakura had shown them all of the buildings around the college halls, Temari finally had time to unpack her things. Her room was quite small, but it could turn out very nice if she furnished it well. Ino's room was full of posters of boy bands, clothing scattered everywhere and her books on a careless pile in a corner. No wonder she failed the exam for Medics, Temari thought. Sakura's room was much neater, and she had gotten a lot less girly since Temari had last seen her. It could've been any student's room, except for the pictures of their old class and the small plants and flowers she grew. Animals were not allowed in the rooms, which was why Kiba (who was studying Veterinary Medicine) rented a place in town. He refused to be separated from his dog, but he came to visit Hinata quite often.

Temari finally put the last one of her T-shirts in the wardrobe, and sat down on the bed. Then she heard a knock.

"Come in," she said.

Shikamaru opened the door. Temari cocked her head.

"Are boys allowed to go to the girls' rooms?"

He laughed. "This isn't highschool anymore!" Temari nodded. "I suppose so."

He walked over to the bed and grabbed some of her books from the table. He opened the first one and flipped the pages.

"So… Biotechnology, huh?"

Temari sighed. "Yeah. I hope I can make it." She let herself fall backwards and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't exactly clean. She should cover it with a poster or something.

"Wanna play a game?" Shikamaru asked. She propped herself up with one arm and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you suggest?"

"Chess. I joined the chess club here, so I suppose I should practice."

"Sure." She sat upright again. "You got a board in your room?"

He nodded. She got to her feet and put her books back on the table.

"Let's go there, then."


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N**: Hi guys! Sorry for the lack of updates... School was very busy lately. I also apologize for the lack of romance in Part 2 at first, but if you hadn't seen your boyfriend for more than a year, would you start to kiss immediately?  
Anyway, enjoy!

**Chapter 14- Panem et Venatio**

Temari followed Shikamaru to his room. She looked around carefully on the way there, memorizing it immediately. She had the feeling she would walk this route quite often.

He pushed his door open, (fifth from the right), and gestured Temari to come in.

It was nothing special, like all other rooms. He still needed to unpack most of his things, but his books were all lying beside his bed. On the table stood a chessboard, a box of pieces next to it. Temari took a seat and started arranging the pieces on the board.

"It's a long time ago I played this…" she said. He sat down in front of her and took the king from her hands.

"That's okay, I can teach you," he laughed. "This one needs there, next to the queen."

He placed the chessman on the board and showed her where the other ones were supposed to stand.

Soon, they were so caught up in the game that they didn't hear the repeated knocking on the door. Temari only yanked her head up when she heard Ino's high-pitched voice:

"Hey, Shikamaru! I don't care what you're doing, but stop doing it right now and open this friggin' door!"

He rolled his eyes and got up. "Yeah, coming…" he mumbled, and opened the door. Ino fell inside, followed by Sakura. The blonde looked up to see Temari, a smirk suddenly brightening her eyes.

"Oooh… So that's why it took you so long! Sorry to interrupt, guys," she winked. Temari turned red.

"We were only playing a game!" she said, and Sakura laughed.

"But it's the nature of the game that matters!" Shikamaru slapped his forehead.

"Seriously, you girls…" Ino playfully hit him.

"Anyway," she said, brushing the hair out of her face, "We wanted to ask you guys if you'd like to join us outside."

"Sure," Temari said, before Shikamaru could refuse. He glared at her, mouthing the word 'troublesome', but she glared right back. Although she would've enjoyed spending the evening in his room, she had to take care of her brothers too. Gaara sure as hell was in trouble already, she was pretty certain of that. And to leave Kankuro to handle it was only asking for more problems.

Ino and Sakura dragged Shikamaru out of the room, while Temari closed the door. She patted her lover on his head.

"Just endure it, honey," she smiled. He managed a smirk. "You'll pay for this later."

"Ohoho! I'll keep you to that!"

---

Yep, Gaara was pretty much in trouble, Temari noticed as she followed Ino and Sakura outside. A couple of guys were playing soccer on the field of grass in front of the Science labs. Temari recognized Lee and Naruto, and some other boys she had forgotten the name of. Her youngest brother was playing with them (or at least trying so), but of course he had to cheat. Lee didn't take that, and the two boys were having some sort of battle going on. Temari saw with growing worry how Gaara became more violent every minute, but then Naruto put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Hey, Gaara, I know you're new here, but we don't play like that." Gaara only looked at him. Naruto continued.

"I don't mind of you join our game or not, but when you do, you play it fair. Got it?"

"Yeah," Gaara said, and Temari exhaled when he didn't leave the field. Kankuro stood at the border, and as soon as he saw his sister he went towards her.

"Yo. How're you doing?" he asked. Temari answered: "Fine. And you?"

He shrugged. "That depends. Did that Shikamaru guy try anything funny on you?"

She sighed. "No Kankuro, he didn't. How much longer are you going to supervise me?"

"As long as it's needed. But well, I'm fine then. Say, what was that blonde's name again?"

"Naruto?"

"Of course not!" Kankuro exclaimed. "The girl! The one that was at the airport too."

"Oh, just say that immediately…" Temari chuckled. "Her name's Ino. Why'd you wanna know? Like her?"

Kankuro cocked his head and observed the girls who were now standing next to the field, cheering for the boys. It was clear Sakura was on Naruto and Lee's side, but Ino just raised her voice with every nice move.

"Who knows? She sure has the looks," he said. Temari raised her eyebrows. "Well, good luck with it."

She walked towards her friends. Shikamaru had been sitting on the grass, but the guys had pulled him into the game and now he was trudging after the ball. Lee easily passed him and took away the ball, moving closer to the goal.

"Go get 'em Lee!" Sakura yelled. Ino hit her arm. "Don't make it too obvious, forehead," she said. Sakura looked at her innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lee aimed at the goal, but Chouji made a dive for the ball and caught it. Ino threw her arms in the air.

"Nice one, Chouji!" she cheered. Sakura pulled at her hair. "Like you're so unsuspicious, Ino-pig," she said. Temari laughed. Tough luck for Kankuro, apparently. She joined Ino and Sakura at the sideline, and soon Tenten and Hinata came too.

"Hey, Temari!" Tenten greeted. "Long time no see! How're you doing?"

"Great, thanks," Temari answered. "What are you studying?"

"Industrial Design," Tenten answered. "I wanted Mechanical Engineering at first, but it was a bit too technical for me."

"Funny, my brother does that! I'm here for Biotechnology."

"Your brother? I didn't know your siblings had come with you! Where are they?"

Temari pointed behind her. "That's Kankuro, the one that does Engineering." Then she searched for Gaara on the field. "And that one with the red hair is Gaara, the youngest."

Tenten observed the two boys. She smiled. "Well, Kankuro looks pretty good," she said.

Temari shook her head. "He's not your type. More into girls like Ino and such."

The brunette shrugged. "Too bad."

Hinata had listened to their conversation, and turned to them.

"Guys, it's getting late. How about dinner?" she asked. Tenten nodded.

"Sounds good. Whose turn is it?" Seeing Temari's puzzled look, she added: "We're sharing cooking turns. Every day another one of the girls cooks, but I forgot who was supposed to do it today…" Temari nodded in understanding, and Hinata said:

"Don't worry, it's my turn. Let's go to my room."

They got Ino and Sakura, and Temari waved at Shikamaru. Then she turned around and went with the other girls to Hinata's room.

Shikamaru watched her walk away, and got a little lost in his thoughts. She still was as lovely as she had been before, maybe even more.

Long, tanned, witty and smart, pretty in a rough way, and now her body had become a lot more female too. He was going to get a hard time in keeping other guys away from her. Naruto threw the ball to his head. "Oi, Shikamaru! Don't fall asleep there!"

He rolled his eyes and walked over to the goal. Chouji chewed on something and leaned against the wall. The goal existed only of a few chalk markings on the brick wall, but it sufficed. And it was perfect to lean against when the ball was at the other side of the field.

"Yo," Shikamaru greeted his friend. "How's it going?"

Chouji shrugged. "Okay," he said with his mouth full. "Temari arrived just in time, didn't she? The classes are starting the day after tomorrow."

Shikamaru nodded. "She's off to eat now. Maybe we should do that too."

Of course his friend agreed, and they left the field after installing Kankuro as goalkeeper.

"Are you looking forwards to Nutrition?" Shikamaru asked his friend, while taking another bite of his chicken. Chouji nodded.

"Yeah," he said, "though I'm gonna miss our classes together."

"Hm, that's too bad indeed… But the good thing is that we have academic freedom now! We won't be punished if we don't show up at colleges."

Chouji swallowed his food. "I know. But I'm going to work hard for this, I really want to graduate."

Shikamaru smiled. "I'm sure you can do it," he said. "If you ever need help, just ask me."

"Sure, thanks a lot," the other boy said, and took his fourth piece of meat.

"By the way, have you heard anything about Sasuke yet?" he asked, chewing.

"It's hard to hear nothing about him, seeing how Naruto talks about nothing else!" Shikamaru exclaimed. "But no, I guess he's still working for that Orochimaru."

"Hmmm…" Chouji mused. "Well, luckily Ino's over him now."

Shikamaru agreed.

---

Temari sat down at the table in Hinata's room, and suddenly found all eyes directed at her.

"What?" she asked, and Ino answered:

"Tell us all about Shikamaru! What were you doing in his room?"

Temari sighed. "Well, of course it looked like we were playing chess, but we were really…"

Sakura cut her off. "Spare me the details. I wanted to ask you something else. How's Suna? And why do you still wear your hair like that?" She pointed at Temari's ponytails.

"I already told you what Suna is like," the girl said, "and I guess everything else was in the letters I wrote. And I'm pretty sure everyone knows exactly what I've written because of Ino's curiosity," the blonde turned red, "so I won't have to tell what I already wrote. Suna is still boiling hot, and I still wear my hair like that because I like it."

Tenten said: "Well, ponytails suit you nicely, but they're a bit childish." Seeing Temari's glare, she quickly added: "Not that I mind, really! But well, we're all in college now. We're mature! And of course hair is only a small part of your image, but it's still important."

Temari remembered Tenten always wearing her hair in buns, and she had to admit her current style (it hung loose over her shoulders, with lots of hairclips) looked very nice. Girly, even, which she certainly did not look two years ago. But still, Temari was so used to her ponytails…

"Of course you don't have to change your hair if you don't want to," Ino said, running her fingers through her own thick, blonde tresses. "But it would be nice. Remember that party at Hinata's, the day before you left last time?" Temari nodded.

"Well, you changed your style that time, and it looked lovely. Why not try it again?"

Temari tugged at her ponytails. "I'm not sure…" she said.

Sakura smiled. "Well, let's talk about something else. We have one day left before the classes start, how are we going to spend it?"

"We could follow the boys' example and go sporting," Tenten suggested, but Ino pretended to throw up at the mere mentioning of the word 'sport'. Tenten frowned, and said: "Well, do you have a better idea?"

Ino started to sum up everything she could think of to do in one day:

"We could go to town to shop, or go see a movie, or buy ice-cream and watch boys, or we could decorate our rooms, or..."

"Please stop it," Temari said, raising her hands. "It all sounds good, but maybe not all of us will like it."

Sakura nodded. "Actually, I was planning to look for a job tomorrow," she said. She looked over her shoulder to see how Hinata was doing. The girl was still busy with the small oven she had in her room.

"Need help?" Sakura asked. Hinata shook her head and walked towards the others, carrying a pan. Tenten jumped to her feet and got a pile of plates and cutlery somewhere, and Sakura shoved away the magazines on the floor. Hinata carefully placed the pan on the ground, and everyone started scooping their plates with the food. Temari couldn't decide what it exactly was, but it smelled and tasted good. She silently watched the others eat, amused with their manners.

"How long have you been living here already?" she asked, taking another serving of whatever Hinata had made.

"A week," Ino said with her mouth full. "Same for me," Tenten said after swallowing. Sakura cocked her head and thought. "Nine days," she said then. "Four days," said Hinata.

"And I arrived this morning," Temari added. "You must be used to student life already, then. What's it like?"

Sakura shrugged. "It's not so different, the only new thing is that we have to look after ourselves now. I like it, actually. No more nagging from my parents, no more trouble about my hair color…"

Hinata agreed. "It's fun to live on your own, though I'm glad we still have each other."

"Yeah, what would you be without me?" Ino said. Tenten laughed. "Not deaf!"

Temari smiled. She was so happy here. Even though she hadn't seen the girls for more than a year, they were already acting like her family again. And now her brothers were here too. Konoha had become a second home for her.


	17. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15- Fights and** **apologies**

"Thanks, Hinata," Tenten said, putting her plate at the top of the pile. She was the last one to finish dinner. The others rose to their feet again, and Ino said:

"Let's join the others again, shall we?"

Everyone approved. When they arrived at the field Temari looked around for Shikamaru, but she didn't see him anywhere.

"Hey, Kankuro!" she yelled at her brother, who was slouching in front of the goal. "Where's Shikamaru?"

He grinned. "I buried him outside the fence." Temari rolled her eyes and he laughed.

"Just kidding. He went away for dinner."

"Okay," she said, and returned to the girls. The spent some time watching the still on-going game, but suddenly Lee stopped in front of Gaara.

"You," he said. "You're gonna play fair now, or I'll make you."

Gaara's face remained exactly the same. "Are you challenging me?" he asked in a slightly lower voice. Temari's eyes widened. This meant trouble!

"Yes," Lee said. Now Gaara laughed. "Good," he said, and without any further hesitance, he leaped at Lee and tried to throw him on the ground. Temari gasped and looked at Kankuro. He answered her look, shocked too.

Sakura ran towards the fighting boys. "Stop it!" she yelled. But they didn't listen. Lee had dodged Gaara's first attack, and tried to get his arms. He failed in that, but managed to hit his jaw. Gaara let out a cry and glared at him. Then he made a quick movement and kicked Lee's leg. The boy fell down, and Naruto jumped forward. He grabbed Gaara's arms before he could do anything, looked him straight in the eyes and said:

"Calm down. Now."

Gaara fought to get free, but Naruto held him still. He yelled:

"Hey, some help would be nice!"

Temari and Kankuro hurried towards them, taking over Gaara. Temari quickly talked to him, worry in her voice.

"Gaara, stop it! This is pointless, why are you acting so stupid? You shouldn't fight! It's only your first day here, don't mess it up already! You were only playing a game, how hard is it just to follow the rules? There's no reason to get aggressive immediately…"

He didn't even look at her, but continued to stare at Naruto. The blonde boy looked right back, and said:

"Yeah, it's stupid. Next time we play a game, you're gonna play it fair. I'll make sure of that."

He turned around and walked back to Lee, who was surrounded by girls and managed to crack a smile. Sakura searched for eye contact with Temari, and she answered with an apologizing look.

"You get Gaara to his room, try to talk some sense in him," Temari said quietly to Kankuro. "I'll stay here and try to excuse him."

"Good luck," he brother answered, dragging Gaara along. He entered the building, and Temari returned to the others.

"Please excuse my brother," she began, and bit her lip when she saw Lee still clutching his ankle. "He's had a lot of trouble in the past, please don't judge too hard on him."

Kiba laughed scornfully. "He'd better apologize himself!"

She lowered her head. "I know. He's just not very used to social contact. Sometimes Kankuro and I can't even understand him…"

Naruto smiled, and said: "Don't worry about it. Lee's gonna be okay, and we'll give Gaara another chance."

Lee looked up to Temari and nodded. "Yeah, I'm not angry at him."

Sakura helped him to get up, and he tried to stand again. It succeeded, and he smiled at the pink-haired girl. "It's good to have a Medicine student around," he said, and Sakura laughed. "And that when I haven't followed a single class yet!"

"Come on, let's find you a nurse," Naruto said, taking Lee's other arm. He insisted he was okay, but Sakura and Naruto forced him into the direction of the sickbay. Kiba and Hinata decided to go to Hinata's room, to do god-knows-what, and Temari sighed. "If you'll excuse me now, I'm gonna have a talk with Gaara."

Ino and Tenten said goodbye, and Temari went back to the building. She got straight to Gaara's room, her pace quicker than normal.

---

"What the hell were you thinking back there?" Temari asked loudly, slamming the door shut. "You're damn lucky these guys are the most forgiving people I've ever known, or you'd be in a lot of trouble now! You could've seriously hurt Lee there."

Gaara stared at the ground. "I know."

Kankuro sat next to him on the bed, leaning against the wall. "I already spoke to him."

Temari let herself fall down on a chair and exhaled.

"Lee's in the sickbay now. You hurt his ankle, but he was still able to walk."

Gaara got to his feet. "I'm going there. See you tomorrow," he said, and went out of the room. Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances, and the boy shrugged.

"It's getting late, I'm going to my room."

Temari followed him outside, and mused: "I do hope he's going to apologize."

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he could as well want to finish the job," he said. They both laughed.

"Good night!"

Temari went into the direction of her room, and when she passed the corridor Shikamaru's room was in, he and Chouji just arrived from the other direction.

"Hey, Temari," Chouji greeted, and Shikamaru raised his hand.

"Anything happened?" he asked. "You look a little distracted."

"Yeah, actually, a lot happened," Temari answered. "Gaara and Lee got in a fight, but I hope it's okay now. Lee was brought to the sickbay, and Gaara went there too."

Chouji shrugged. "I guess Ino will tell me everything tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now, goodnight!"

"Night," Shikamaru said, and Chouji went to his room. Shikamaru turned to Temari.

"Shall I walk you to your room?"

"Well, it is part of your job as my _boyfriend_, isn't it?" she laughed.

He rolled his eyes. "Boyfriend, tsk. I hate that word."

"Yeah," Temari agreed, "it's disgusting. But I'd like it if you'd join me."

They walked down the halls together. Temari glanced at him from beside, and smiled. She took his hand, and he tensed. But soon he smiled too. Blushing, he wrapped his fingers around hers, and he was glad the corridors were deserted.

---

Sakura and Naruto sat next to Lee in the sickbay. The nurse had given him painkillers and told him to keep walking normally. Now they were just waiting for her to finish the prescription for more painkillers, but Lee was so tired from the game that he had dozed off. Naruto and Sakura were having a silent conversation.

"… and then he'll come to study here for sure!" Naruto said, finishing his umpteenth story about Sasuke, who still refused to give up his job and come to the University. Sakura rested her head in her hands. "We can only hope so," she sighed. She looked up when she heard someone at the door.

Gaara came into the room, and closed the door carefully. Sakura looked at him alerted and moved closer to Lee. He noticed and smiled slightly.

"How bad is it?" he asked, not raising his voice.

"He'll survive," Sakura said. "But only just barely." She glared at him. If it wasn't for the fact that he was Temari's little brother…

Naruto laughed. "He's all right! It's only a bruise, and he's gotten painkillers."

Gaara nodded. "Good."

He sat down on the bench in front of them, and looked at the sleeping figure. Sakura eyed him, expecting him to say something. But he remained silent for a long time.

"Why did you attack him all of a sudden?" Naruto finally asked. Gaara directed his gaze at him and said, in that slow voice of his:

"I don't know." He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"I've never learned to play fair. No one ever expected it from me," he said. Sakura looked up. She remembered Temari's mother had died at her brother's birth. And if their father really was never at home… How were three children supposed to grow up, raising each other? No wonder Gaara acted so strange. Temari at least had known her mother, and she didn't have to bear with the thought that her birth had killed her. Gaara continued talking:

"It just didn't occur to me that he would mind it so much. No one ever dared to speak up to me, except for Temari and Kankuro. But they're the same as me, although they hide it better." He opened his eyes again, and looked at Naruto.

"Please accept my apologies." The blonde laughed.

"You better say that to him," he said and pointed to Lee. But Sakura smiled.

"Apology accepted," she said. "I'll check if the nurse is ready yet. Will you guys bring Lee to his room?"

"Sure," Naruto said, and began shaking Lee up. Sakura left the room, her head full of thoughts.

---

Sakura walked through the corridors, the box with painkillers for Lee in her hand. Temari's room was on the route to Lee's, so she decided she could just as well tell her everything was all right. She stopped when she reached the Sand girl's door and raised her hand to knock, but hesitated when she heard soft voices. She couldn't hear exactly what they said, but that grumble was definitely Shikamaru's.

Sakura smiled. Temari would hear it tomorrow, anyway. She silently walked away, leaving the two alone in each other's company.

----------------------

A/N: Not much ShikaTema again, sorry, sorry, sorry! And I'm afraid next chapter won't be any better... It's a sacrifice necessary for the storyline, I guess.


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16- I don't like your girlfriend**

"So, how are we going to survive tomorrow?" Tenten asked, leaning against the wall. "The classes, I mean." Sakura shrugged. "Just, go," she said. "I don't have much to worry about anyway, I found a job this morning."

"Really?" Temari asked. "What kind of job?"

"I'm gonna be waiter in a cafeteria."

"Nice!"

At that moment, Ino and Hinata appeared, and Ino ran towards Sakura (which was quite funny to see, seeing how it was more stumbling than running because of her high heels).

"Sakura! Naruto says he needs to see you immediately! He's in the canteen now."

"Oh, really? I'll be going right now. Bye, everyone!" She hurried back to the building, watched by the others.

"What would be so important?" Tenten asked. Ino shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. "Any other news?" Temari shook her head.

"Sakura found a job as waitress, but that's it. I think I'm going to look for a job too, there were advertisements hanging in the hall, right?"

"Yeah. I'll go with you, I need money," Tenten said. Ino and Hinata decided to come with them as well.

---

Sakura entered the canteen, and spotted a blonde head at a table on the other side. She walked over.

"Naruto?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw her. A wide grin came to his face. Sakura noticed someone familiar sitting beside him, but before she could think of anyone with black hair like that, he turned around. A small smile graced his lips, and she gasped.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto beamed. "He came back! Isn't it great, Sakura?" He jabbed his friend in the ribs. Sakura's eyes were wide. "Didn't you work at some company?"

"I did," Sasuke said. "But I stopped. The boss expected a bit too much from me, and I wanted to study, anyway."

She marveled at his voice. After not seeing him for so long, she had forgotten how cool he really was. Oh, gods, how could she ever have pretended she was over him?

She fell down at a chair next to Naruto.

"Sasuke… I can't believe it." She managed a smile. "It's great you're here."

He leaned over the table to get closer to her. "I think so too. I missed you guys," he said, and her cheeks heated.

---

Temari pointed at a paper hanging on the wall in the hall.

"Here, a bookshop," she said. "That sounds good."

Tenten nodded. Temari took the paper and put it in her pocket, and at that moment Ino gasped. Temari quickly looked around.

Three people entered the hall. One was Naruto, laughing. The second was Sakura, looking happier than Temari had ever seen her. And the third was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

"What? Sasuke's back?" Tenten exclaimed. Temari looked at the others. They were all stunned, but she didn't really get why. The guy decided to come here and study after all, so what? She shrugged. If it made Sakura and the others happy, she'd be too.

No, Sasuke wouldn't be able to make her face flush like Sakura's now. Only Shikamaru could do that, and he was the only person she wouldn't kill for that. Because Temari did not blush. It was against her principles.

All the girls were gathered around Sasuke now, while he explained why he had come back.

"… And besides, I have to keep an eye on my brother too," he finished his story. Everyone nodded, and Naruto nudged Sasuke. He pointed to the administration.

"Come," he said, "you have to get your schedule now."

They went there, and Ino tugged at Sakura's shirt.

"Let's go to my room," she said. "We need to talk. Temari, can you come too?"

"Yeah, sure," Temari said, and they left Hinata and Tenten behind in the hall. Those girls were still busy chatting about Sasuke's return, and also checking the available jobs, so they wouldn't mind the absence of the others.

---

Ino opened the door to her room and the three girls went inside. Sakura fell down on the bed (it seemed that everyone found beds the best things to sit at, rather than chairs), and sighed happily. 

"I can't believe he's here…" she mused. Ino put her hands on her hips and said:

"That's exactly what I want to talk about. I mean, you do realize you're dating Lee at the moment, don't you?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked. "Yeah, of course. I'm just happy Sasuke's back. I haven't seen him for so long, it was a big surprise."

"You seem happier than I have ever seen you," Temari said. "Not that I've seen you that much lately, but still…"

"And you can deny, but I know you still have a thing for Sasuke," Ino added.

Sakura rested her head in her hands. "I won't deny," she said. "I wish I could."

"So you still like him?" Temari asked.

"Yeah, I suppose so. The moment I saw him again… I just knew I still love him."

"See? I already thought you did," Ino said. Sakura clenched her fists.

"But what about Lee? He's so sweet to me, I really can't break his heart."

Temari tapped her lip. "Yes, it's clear he's still he's still smitten with you. This is going to be difficult, girl."

The pink-haired sighed. "I know."

"Well," Ino said, "first you have to decide which boy you want to go on with. Lee loves you, but you don't love him. You love Sasuke, but we still have to learn whether he likes you too or not. Or you could just jump on the first cute guy that comes around and take him."

"I can't go on with Lee. I'm really sorry for him, but I know I can't lie to myself."

"Still, if you confess to Sasuke, it might end up like last time, and you'll be completely alone. You were there at that time, weren't you Temari?"

"Yeah, I was. I think it's best to wait a little longer and observe Sasuke. Try to find out if he likes you too. Until then, you should stay with Lee. It would be harsh to hurt him for nothing. And maybe, if you've spent some more time with Sasuke, you might realize he has changed or something, I don't know. But you must know you can be happy with Lee."

"I know. Really I do, and I also do like him, but just not as much as Sasuke. I guess you're right, I'll wait to see his reaction."

Ino nodded. Temari coughed.

"Eh, I don't know about you, but I'm quite tired. If you drama queens will excuse me…"

"No, we won't," Ino said. "First I want to ask you what I wanted to ask yesterday. How's Shikamaru?"

"What? How do you mean?"

Sakura grinned. "I heard you two in your room last night."

"Oh, really?!" Ino exclaimed. "Temari, what have you been doing?"

Temari raised her hands in defense. "Nothing! We were playing chess, talking a little…"

"Yeah, sure," Ino smirked. "You're blushing, you know."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"No. I do not blush."

"Yes you do."

"I. Do. Not."

"Oh, cut it out!" Sakura said, slapping her hand to her forehead. "You make me crazy sometimes. Ino, she won't tell. Allow her some privacy, will you? After all, we're not asking you about all _your_ boys either."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Ino said in a lower voice.

"Well, you are quite popular among the other gender," Sakura asked. Temari nodded.

"Yes, even Kankuro is pretty interested in you," she added. "But actually I'm surprised you're not that excited about Sasuke's return. You used to be one of his fangirls when I last saw you."

"I was. Not anymore. So what? I'm just waiting for the right guy, and until I've found him, why shouldn't I have some fun?"

"I don't get how you can see those seniors as 'fun', but well, that's your business," Temari said. "Anyway, I'm going back to my room."

"Okay, see you!" Sakura said, and Ino waved.

She left the room and went on her way to her own.

When she reached her corridor, however, she heard a familiar voice:

"Sorry, but could you leave me alone?" What was Shikamaru doing here?

"I only want to talk with you…" She didn't know that voice, but it was definitely female. She quickly went around the corner. Shikamaru was close to her door, and there was a girl with him. Temari could only see her back. She wore a hat, with flaming red hair coming out underneath it.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Temari greeted him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," he said. The girl turned around and glared at Temari.

"This is your girlfriend? Puh, you'd be better off without her," she said.

"Excuse me?" Temari asked, but Shikamaru pulled her away.

"Ignore her, please. She's been following me. Let's go."

But Temari shook him off. She stepped closer to the redhead.

"Listen, you. I don't know who you are, and I don't care either. Just stay away from Shikamaru."

The girl only grinned. "Or else?"

"Yes," Temari said in a cold voice. "Or else."

She did not get an answer. The redhead turned around and walked away with swaying hips, whistling a high melody.

Temari turned to Shikamaru. "Who was that?"

He shrugged. "Some girl, Tayuya was her name I thought. She followed me, quite annoying really…"

"I hope we'll never see her again. Let's get inside."

She opened her door and Shikamaru followed her into the room.

"So, where were we?" he asked, while setting up the board again. "I had surrounded your queen, right?"

"Yeah," she said, sitting down, "but let's just start a new game. Maybe I'll win this time."

He smiled. "Okay. Just keep trying."


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- Marked

Temari played with her earrings, and looked around in the college hall. There were quite a lot of students, though it was a small group compared to Psychology. Most of them were sitting together in groups, and she sighed about the fact that no one she knew had the same study as her. But maybe the other students would be nice.

She turned around, and a slightly built girl with glasses smiled at her. She smiled back.

At that moment, an older man asked for attention.

"Good morning, students, and welcome to your first college," he said. "You're lucky, because we're going to start with an experiment immediately."

The class started, and Temari immediately felt she was at the right place. The subjects intrigued her, and soon she was busy preparing some test-tubes with chemicals.

The professor came to her table.

"You're the girl from Suna, right?" he asked. Temari nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Wouldn't you let someone else prepare those tubes then? It might be a little too difficult for you."

A girl with brown curls looked over her shoulder, and Temari caught her eye. From the look on her face she could tell the girl was thinking the same thing as her. How could that man be so rude?

"I'm sorry sir, but what does the fact that I'm from Suna have to do with my capability of preparing test-tubes?" Temari asked, doing her best to stay polite. Which was hard, she hated the professor already.

"Well, the education in the desert probably isn't at the same level as here, so you can better leave the difficult work to the other, more talented students."

"More talented?" Temari asked. She was truly flabbergasted. "Sir, I don't have any problems with this at all. Why do you doubt me?"

The brown-haired girl turned around.

"Yes sir, I don't get it either. Look at her tubes, she's already further than we are and she started later! Besides, hers look better too."

"That could be, but still, Suna…"

"I agree with her," a tall guy added. "This sounds like discrimination, sir."

The girl with glasses noticed their discussion, and nodded too. "Yes, that's not fair!"

The professor seemed to shrink under all the attention he suddenly got. Temari felt her inside grow. She was being supported!

Shrugging, the professor said: "Well, go ahead then. But don't blame me if it goes wrong!"

Behind his back, the four students grinned at each other. "Thank you," Temari said to the others, and they went to work again.

---

"Checkmate," Shikamaru stated. "Again."

Temari frowned and studied the board. "How'd you get past my horse?" she asked.

He picked up the pieces and showed her. "See?"

She nodded, mad at herself for not noticing his strategy.

"Another game?" she asked. He wanted to answer, but just as he opened his mouth, someone knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Temari said, raising her voice. The door opened and Sakura entered.

"Hi guys," she waved. "How was your first day?" She sat down at the last chair. Temari shrugged.

"Okay," she said, "but every professor seems to think I am incapable of knowing anything, just because I am from Suna. It's like a darker skin is some sort of curse mark. Other than that, it was great."

"Hmm, that's too bad… What about you, Shikamaru?"

"Boring," he said, and continued setting up the chessmen. Temari winked at Sakura.

"He actually enjoys Math very much, he just doesn't want to admit it," she said. Sakura laughed. "I suppose so!"

Shikamaru finished the board and rested his chin on his fingertips.

"Ready," he said. "You're white." Temari turned around and looked at the board. She moved one of her soldiers, and Sakura pouted.

"Are you two gonna play all day? That's so unsocial!" she complained.

"We just aren't social then," Shikamaru said.

"But it's really fun outside!" Sakura exclaimed. "We're hanging out on the field, and the guys are playing soccer again. Chouji and Ino are there, too. Hell, you could even take that chessboard with you! Because really, not even Kiba and Hinata spend all day in a room…"

Temari shrugged. "I guess we could just as well join them," she said to Shikamaru. "I don't think I'm gonna win today anyways."

He sighed and put the board aside. They got up and followed a happy Sakura out of the room.

---

"Hey guys!" Ino exclaimed. "Survived the first classes?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "We managed." He and Temari sat down on the grass next to Chouji. Lee and Neji were arguing whether or not to play soccer, but Naruto and Sasuke approached so Lee just started to play with Naruto, while Sasuke and Neji joined the others. Hinata and Tenten came too, and soon all the girls were busy chatting and giggling, causing the boys to sent each other knowing looks. Only Sakura was more silent than usual, glancing at Sasuke every few minutes.

Suddenly, Hinata looked up and smiled. Kiba entered the campus, with his dog beside him. As soon as Akamaru saw Hinata, he ran towards her and started to lick her face. She laughed and tried to push him away.

"Hey, Akamaru, easy there!" Kiba shouted, and walked towards the others. He pulled Akamaru away and flashed Neji an apologizing grin. Then he whispered something in Hinata's ear, and she giggled. Neji pretended he didn't notice. Sakura watched them, and suddenly a shadow fell over her face. She stood up and watched Naruto and Lee play.

"Lee?" she called out. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Lee walked towards her, followed by Naruto. The blonde fell down on the grass, and Sakura and Lee walked away together. Ino and Temari quickly exchanged glances, both worried. "What's wrong?" Tenten asked.

"Nothing," the girls answered simultaneously. Tenten shrugged.

"Hey, girls," she said then, "It's my turn to cook tonight, isn't it?" The others nodded.

"Could you please help me? It takes so long to peel all the potatoes myself…"

"Sure," Ino said, and after casting a look at Shikamaru (he was napping) Temari agreed too. Hinata looked at Kiba, but he patted her on her head. "I think I can survive without you," he said. "And you have to help your friends when they're in need." She nodded, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she followed the others to Tenten's room.

Kiba sighed, and Shikamaru opened one eye. "Bored?" he asked.

"A bit," Kiba said. "Though there's enough to be busy with."

Naruto threw the ball at Sasuke, who caught it and started to spin it on his fingertips.

"Hey, let me try that too!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke smirked.

"If you want it, come and get it," he said. Naruto immediately jumped over Chouji and swept Sasuke off his feet. The two boys fell on the ground, wrestling, and Kiba laughed. He clapped his hands. "Don't let him get you down, Naruto!"

Suddenly, the blonde stopped. He tugged at Sasuke's collar.

"What's that in your neck?" he asked. Sasuke quickly covered the spot with his hand, and looked away.

"Probably a bruise," he said, but Naruto shook his head. "It looks like some sort of mark. Let me see it!"

Sasuke sighed, and took away his hand. Naruto practically climbed on his lap to get a close look at Sasuke's neck.

"Yes, it's a tattoo," he stated. "Where'd you get that?"

"I got it when I worked in that company," Sasuke said, deciding he could just as well let the others know. "You see, I didn't tell you the real reason I left."

Everyone was silent, only Akamaru whined softly. Kiba slowly patted the dog's flank.

"Well, it appeared the company was involved in some dark business. A bit mafia-like. They set up all sorts of illegal trades, and I was expected to arrange that. I refused, but because I already was part of them, they didn't want me to go. I got into quite some trouble, but I was able to leave them. They had already forced me to get that tattoo, though. It's a sign that I'm one of them. I wish I could get rid of it."

Naruto's eyes were big. "Sasuke…"

The black-haired boy laughed. "I'm okay now, really! And could you please go off me?"

Naruto blinked. Then he quickly stumbled backwards. "Yeah, sure," he grinned. He picked up the ball again. "Let's play some more!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Okay," and followed Naruto to the field. Kiba wanted to go too, but Neji stopped him.

"I want to speak to you for a moment," he said. Kiba looked surprised, but nodded. Shikamaru nudged Chouji. "Let's go, I'm hungry," he said.

They left the square and went inside the building.

"What would Neji want to say to Kiba?" Chouji asked.

"Probably something about Hinata. He's quite protective of his cousin, after all."

"Aha. Hey, who's that?"

Shikamaru looked up. "Who?"

"That girl over there."

He followed Chouji's look, and saw red hair coming out from under a hat. Tayuya. She grinned and waved when she saw he was looking at her.

"Oh, her. I don't know what's up with her, she's been following me for some days now…"

"Temari won't like that," Chouji said.

"No, she doesn't." Shikamaru sighed. "Women are so troublesome…"

---

"Lee," Sakura said, "I need to tell you something."

"I think I know what it is about," he said.

"You do?"

He sighed. "It's about Sasuke."

Her face flushed, and he knew he was right.

"Yeah, it's about him. Oh, this is so hard… I'll be honest, okay?"

Lee nodded.

"You know I had a crush on him when we were still in highschool, but I thought I was over him when I saw how cool you actually were. But when I saw him, after he had been gone for so long, I couldn't help but falling head over heels for him again…"

Lee lowered his head.

"But please don't understand me wrong, I still like you a lot too! It's just that…"

"I understand," Lee said. His voice sounded thicker. "Although I'm sure I'll never love anyone as much as I love you, I can't stop you if you fall for someone else."

"Oh, Lee…"

"I think you have a chance with him now, and I know you'll be happy with him. But if you ever get hurt, you have to know that I'll be always there for you."

"Lee, how can you be so kind?"

He shrugged. "I just can't be sad if you are happy."

She smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, Lee. I only hope you'll find happiness for yourself, too."

He smiled sadly. Then she said: "I have to go to Tenten now, she's making dinner tonight. I guess I'll see you later then..."

Lee nodded, and watched her leave. He had known from the start Sakura wouldn't stay with him forever, but it still hurt.


	20. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18- Fangirlism**

"Thanks for the food, Tenten," Hinata said. "I'll be going back to Kiba now."

"Do that," Sakura laughed, "before your cousin kills him! I didn't trust the look in his eyes…"

Tenten shook her head. "Don't mistake Neji! I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to Kiba."

"You're only saying that because…" Tenten quickly covered Ino's mouth before she could finish her sentence. The blonde struggled to get free, and stuck out her tongue to Tenten. Tenten pouted.

"I'll come with you, Hinata," Temari said. "My brothers and Shikamaru are still outside."

"Are you afraid they'll get in a fight too?" Sakura asked.

"Nah, Shikamaru would find that too troublesome," she laughed.

She and Hinata left the room. While they walked down the corridors, Hinata said:

"It's really great Sasuke is back, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Temari answered. "I've never seen Sakura and Naruto so happy."

Hinata nodded.

"Yeah, Naruto cares so much for him. More than he ever did for me…" There was a hint of regret in her voice, and Temari nudged her. "Hey, don't be sad! You're happy with Kiba now, aren't you?"

The girl began to smile again at her boyfriend's name. "Yes, I am."

Temari cocked her head. "But, now that we're speaking about Naruto… Do you think he, y'know… _likes _Sasuke?"

Hinata looked at her interested, her eyes wide. "You mean… In _that _way?"

"Uhuh," Temari nodded, her cheeks coloring a little. Hinata giggled and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Well, actually… I think I know what you mean," she said. "The way he looks when he speaks about Sasuke, it's just… Yeah, it really looks like he feels a lot more than friendship."

Temari laughed. "That'd be so cute! Although Sakura wouldn't like it…"

"Hmm, yes, she's still in love with Sasuke, isn't she?" Hinata said, tapping her lip. "Well, Naruto used to like her back in the days I still had a crush on him, so I guess she could join them?"

Temari's mouth fell open.

"Oh no, you did NOT say that! Hinata, are you feeling alright? You used to be so shy and timid and careful with your words, you'd never say such things!"

The girl shrugged, her cheeks burning. "I guess I changed a little. But," and she sounded serious again, "you won't tell anyone about our suspicions, okay? They'll think we're crazy!"

"Sure. It probably isn't true anyway."

"So what? It'd be great if it were. We should ask them who's on top," she said with a strange grin. Her eyes gleamed mischievously.

"What?! You're really sick, you know." Temari shook her head in disbelief.

"Aren't you curious about it then?"

"Not about that, but I do wonder what Tenten put in your food. Jeez, you're nothing like yourself…"

They reached the field of grass, were most of the guys were still sitting. They were sharing some pizza, and Hinata sat down beside Kiba.

"Hey, darling," she said quietly. "I hope Neji didn't threaten you too much while I was away?"

"No, he only tried to castrate me. I told him he was already too late," Kiba said dryly, and Neji grimaced.

"Go on like that and I will do it," he said, and Hinata giggled. Temari tugged at Shikamaru's ponytail.

"Yo! Are Kankuro and Gaara around?"

"No, I haven't seen them. And could you let go of my hair now?"

"Sure," she smiled. "Wanna go back to my room?"

He nodded and got up.

"Bye, guys. I'll see you tomorrow," he said. Temari caught Hinata's eye and made a small gesture towards Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was trying to steal the cheese off Sasuke's pizza, almost eating it out of his hand, and Hinata giggled again. Temari winked and turned around to follow Shikamaru.

"So, you wanna play chess again?" Shikamaru asked, setting the board on the table.

"No," Temari said. "I know a different game we can play tonight…"

Her voice was low and sultry, and Shikamaru suddenly found it very warm in the room. She came closer, and smiled slyly. He smirked back to her when she slung her arms around his neck.

"Do you know how much time had passed since our last kiss?" she whispered, playing with his earrings.

"It must be an eternity," he said when he knew how to use his voice again. He slowly raised his hand and brushed his fingers over her lips. So soft…

She leaned in closer and kissed him. He ran his hands through her hair, over her back, holding her close.

"I missed you so much," he mumbled when she pulled away to breathe.

"But I'm here now. Nothing will part us…" she whispered back.

"Only your brother, maybe," he answered. She smiled.

"No, he won't. He wouldn't want me to be sad."

"Good, then I won't have to be afraid he'll kill me if I do this…"

He moved her towards the bed and reached for the buttons of her shirt, but she grabbed his arms.

"Stop," she said. "What exactly are you planning to do? Cause you know, I don't really feel like getting an abortion next month."

He turned very red and quickly stepped away from her. "Sorry! I didn't really know what I was going to do… I just acted on impulse, y'know?"

"It's okay," she smiled, and blushed too. "But if you really want to go there, just say that, okay?"

"Y-yeah, sure!"

There was an awkward silence.

"So…" Shikamaru slowly said, "You mean that you're okay with it if... I mean, you'd want it too, if we did…"

She didn't look at him, but nodded, her cheeks still burning.

"Yes," she whispered, "though this is sudden. But I trust you," she looked him straight in the eyes again, "so I'm okay with it if you'd want it."

He stepped closer to her, and closed her in his arms again.

"Good to know," he said.

"Don't get too cocky so soon," she laughed. "Find some condoms at first, and then we can talk about it again."

"Hmm, that's a good point… But where am I supposed to get those?"

"Aren't there slot machines in the men's rooms?"

"Yeah, but if someone saw me getting condoms from one of them, things would get really troublesome…"

"Can you ask someone?"

"Somehow I don't think Chouji is in the possession of condoms, unless he and Ino are doing naughty things behind my back, which I doubt. And I can't ask Asuma anymore…"

"Oh yeah, Sarutobi Asuma…" She'd gotten a letter last year that the teacher had died, and how upset Shikamaru was about that. As good as it went with hundreds of miles between them, she had done her best to comfort him. "Do you miss him?"

He nodded. "Quite often. He was the only teacher that didn't constantly nag about me being lazy. But I can live with it now. I kinda took over his smoking habit, it reminds me of him."

She squeezed his hand. "So you're smoking? I didn't smell it on you."

"Sometimes, when I'm stressed or upset. Not very often though."

She shrugged. "As long as you don't die on me. Who else am I going to give my virginity to?"

He blushed. "Oh right, that was the topic. Eh… How about Ino? She has plenty of boyfriends, but I haven't seen her buying diapers yet."

"Nope, I wouldn't ask Ino if you want to keep it out of public. Once she knows something, everybody knows."

"You're right. Then couldn't _you_ ask someone?"

"Who do you suggest? Kankuro?"

"If you can guarantee he won't kill me immediately, that could be an option. I've seen he flirts a lot with the girls around here, so he should have them."

"Okay, I'll try to bring up the topic carefully."

"Good. Now then, where were we?"

He nuzzled her neck, and she giggled. She hadn't realized how much she had missed his kisses. He was a lot taller than her, now, but otherwise he hadn't really changed much. Except that he was a little less lazy maybe, but that was only for her. She smiled and kissed him again.

"Good day, young lady. Can I help you?" the shopkeeper asked. Temari nodded, holding up the advertisement. She had gathered her courage and decided she'd go for the job in the bookshop.

"I'm here for the job," she said, but realized how rude that sounded and quickly added: "I mean, I'd like to work here, if that's okay!" The man smiled.

"Sure. You're not from Konoha, are you?"

"No, I'm from Suna, in the desert."

"Interesting… What's your name?"

"Sabaku no Temari, I'm eighteen years old and I'm currently studying at the university here.

"Aha. My name is Hanzou. Could you tell me what you know about books?"

She started summing up the most important Konohan authors from the last two centuries and their influence on society, and when she also compared them to the Sunan writers, a wide smile came to the man's face.

"I see you know much about the subject. Well then, I'd like to observe your selling skills. The working times were in the advertisement, right?"

Temari confirmed that.

"Good, you can start tomorrow if you want. Be here at four o'clock, okay?"

"Sure! Thank you, mister Hanzou!" She smiled at him and left the shop again. Outside, she suppressed the urge to yell. She got the job! She'd earn her own money!

**AN**: So... Yeah. I'm too young for that kind of scenes! TT.TT Hope you like it, though! I'm having a hard time preparing for my terms...


	21. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19- The question  
**

"Hey, Kankuro?"

Temari sat down on her brother's bed and bit her lip. Would it really be okay to ask him? She didn't want to get Shikamaru in trouble.

"What's it?" Kankuro asked, still looking in the mirror. "You better hurry, I managed to get a date with Ino so I don't have much time."

"Congratulations," Temari said. "See, I wanted to ask you something, but I'm not sure..."

"Well, spill it."

She took a deep breath. "Do you happen to have any condoms?"

He had been doing his hair but dropped the comb. "Excuse me? What does it matter to you what Ino and I do?"

She became very red. "Nothing, it's not about you! It's for me!"

He quickly turned around. "You?" he asked. She nodded, looking at the ground and clutching the sheets. Kankuro was silent for a long time.

"So, you're really serious with Shikamaru…" he said finally. She nodded again, still not brave enough to look at him.

"Are you really sure you want it? Do you trust him?" he asked. Now she raised her head.

"Yes, I do."

He sighed. "Okay then." He bent down and rumbled in a drawer, then tossed two packs of condoms to Temari. She grabbed them and quickly put them in her pocket.

"Thanks," she whispered, and stood up from the bed. He looked at her a little sadly. "My baby sister…"

"Hey! I'm over eighteen already!" She narrowed her eyes. "By the way… What exactly _are_ you going to do with Ino?"

His ears turned red and he quickly moved her towards the door. "Nonyabisnis," he mumbled, and she laughed while she stepped out of the room. "Haha, my baby brother! Oh, now I wonder what Gaara is doing while we're not there!"

--

Temari had dinner with the other girls, in Ino's room this time. She couldn't help but giggle inwardly every time Ino bragged about her date for tonight. Then suddenly, the blonde turned to her.

"Hey, Temari, what should I talk about with him?"

She was taken by surprise, but quickly recovered. "Oh, what it's like in Suna, a bit about music and family… I think he's more interested in you, though," she winked, but Ino pretended not to get the double meaning. "But I can't talk about myself all evening!" the girl exclaimed. "Well, of course I could, but I don't think he'd like that…"

Temari shrugged. "Just see where it goes, just don't do anything stupid."

Ino laughed: "Don't worry, I won't!"

They finished dinner and Temari went to Shikamaru's room. Below her stomach something was trembling, and her heartbeat was faster than normal. She knocked on his door, but tensed when he opened the door. She swallowed.

"Hey," he said. "Hey," she greeted back, and followed him inside. She fell down on the bed, but immediately regretted that. Was it too much of an invitation? She felt her heart beat loudly.

"Say, are you alright? You look very stressed." He sounded concerned.

She exhaled. "I'm fine, just a little nervous." Then she took one of the packs from her pocket. "Here, I managed to get them."

"And I don't have to fear for my life?" She shook her head. He took the pack from her hands and laid it on the table. Then he sat down next to her.

"There was a very interesting theorem today, about the perimeter and surface of squares."

"What about them?" she asked. He started explaining the proof of the theorem, and then Temari told him about the cells she was growing.

"… And if everything goes well then I should have a carrot in a few weeks!"

"But what would you do with that carrot?" he said, leaning closer to her.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, smiling slyly. "Maybe I could try to change its DNA so it becomes purple?"

"Now that would be useful," and he kissed her lips. She answered. He started removing her hair-ties and the dark blond tresses fell over her shoulders. She continued kissing him, but hesitated when she felt his fingers sliding down her body. He stopped.

"Are you really sure?" She took a deep breath, then kissed him again.

"Yes," she whispered.

--

The next morning, when Temari walked into the college hall, she was greeted by her fellow students:

"Hey, there's the Desert Queen!"

She sat down at a table and asked: "Since when am I a queen?"

The girl with curled hair laughed. "Since your attitude is that of a queen! Don't you like the ring of it, Temari, queen of the desert?"

"I sure do," she said. Then the lesson started, and she went away to check her cell culture. Desert queen… She felt flattered the others called her that.

In the privacy of the lab she touched her lips and marveled at the memory of Shikamaru. She had never felt more like a woman before. She could have as many eighteenth birthdays as she'd want, but only now she felt… mature, feminine. Would he feel like that too? Only the mature part of course, she was pretty sure he wouldn't feel feminine. She smiled while she made a note of the cells, and still smiled when she joined the other students again. The others saw, but didn't say anything. Only the tall guy asked:

"Something good happened?"

She nodded. "Yes," and leaned over her notes again. Then she walked towards one of the computers to enter the data, and he couldn't ask any further.

When her classes ended, she checked her watch and saw she had to hurry. Her first day in the bookshop would start in half an hour, so she quickly dumped her books in her room and went to town.

"Good afternoon!" she greeted Hanzou.

"Hello, Temari," he answered. "I've got a nice job for you, could you put these books in the shelves? Alphabetic order, please."

"Sure," she said. She took a look at the huge pile of books and sighed. Oh well, she'd start at the top.

Later, one of the other shop assistants found her completely lost in one of the books. She tapped on her shoulder and Temari yanked her head up.

"Sorry!" she said quickly. "I'll continue…" The other girl smiled.

"Don't worry about it, it happens all the time. We all love books, that's why we're here. But could you help out at the cash desk for a moment? We're quite busy."

"Y-yeah, of course…" She followed the other, and looked at the till.

"Have you worked with this before?" She shook her head.

"No, but it doesn't look too hard. I'll manage."

"Okay, if there's any trouble, just ask."

"Perfect."

She helped a few costumers, and quite quickly got the hang of settling accounts. Soon she worked as smoothly as if she had never done anything else. Until a girl entered the shop. A whistling, red-haired girl.

She dropped a book on Temari's desk and grinned. It was a manual: "How to get your boyfriend (in ten easy steps)." Inwardly, Temari rolled her eyes.

"That's seven fifty, please," she said, keeping her cool. "Is it a gift?"

"No, but I guess you could use it," Tayuya said when she counted down the money. "Or actually, then the title should've been 'How to _keep_ your boyfriend', shouldn't it?"

Temari sighed. "Listen," she said, "I don't know what you're thinking, but there's absolutely no chance that you'll ever get between Shikamaru and me. And please leave now, there are other customers waiting."

"We'll see about that. Goodbye, Sand Witch."

Tayuya left the shop and Temari shrugged. That girl really was troublesome, as Shikamaru would call it. She'd better just ignore her.

--

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was doing his best to comfort a very sad Chouji.

"I'm sure it's only a fling, she's had so many guys before…" he said.

"I know," Chouji said, resting his chin on his hands. "I wish she'd stop that."

"She's only looking for the right one, and maybe that really is Temari's brother. You never know."

"But still! I know I can't force her to stop going after guys, but why doesn't she ever notice me?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth, but closed it again. Chouji sighed.

"I understand, I'm no looker. Still I just can't help but feeling over-protective of her, almost possessive."

"Well, we were practically raised together, Ino's sort of a sister to us. Like the two of us are almost brothers."

He smiled. "The way I feel about her is not quite the way a brother should feel."

Shikamaru shrugged. "If you see how protective Kankuro is towards Temari, you'd start to suspect things too if you look at it like that. Really, that guy's so troublesome…"

"Well, he's got Ino now."

"But with Ino you never know how long it'll last. I mean, remember Sai?"

Chouji nodded with a dark look in his eyes.

"And Sasuke, and all the other ones…"

"Yeah, I know she came over them too, but it just worries me that she's so wild. She might get in trouble."

"I'm sure she can take care of herself, and even if she couldn't then you can go and save her like a knight in shining armor, and everyone is happy. So don't worry."

"Thanks," Chouji said, and Shikamaru stood up. He went towards the door, but Chouji said:

"Hey, Shikamaru?"

"Hmm?"

"Did something good happen with Temari?" He quickly turned around.

"Why'd you think that?"

"You seem a bit absent, and you smile constantly. That's not common for you. And I saw Temari beaming too, but Kankuro looked a bit frustrated…"

"I see. Actually, yes, something good happened."

And with that, he turned around again and left the room. Chouji grinned.


	22. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20- Betrayal  
**

When Temari arrived in her room again, it was already evening. She had skipped dinner with the girls and just grabbed a sandwich. She cringed when she recognized the sound of the word. Sand Witch, that's what Tayuya had called her. She liked the title Desert Queen a lot more.

She sighed and fell down on her bed. Why couldn't that bitch just leave her and Shikamaru alone? Why now, when she felt that things were perfect between them? She heard a knock on her door, and jumped up in the conviction that it was Shikamaru. When she opened the door though, her brothers stood at her.

"Oh, it's just you," she said. Kankuro laughed. "Were you expecting higher company?"

"No, no, please do come in," she said, stepping back. They followed her into the room. Gaara took a chair and Kankuro sat down on the table. Temari went back to sit on her bed and asked:

"So, what's up?"

Kankuro sighed. "We're pretty much in trouble. People here don't like Suna that much, you know."

"I noticed. Some of the professors are really rude to me. But it's not really that bad, is it?"

"Well…" Kankuro looked at Gaara. The younger boy said slowly:

"I got in a fight with some seniors this morning. They insulted us."

Kankuro nodded. "If I hadn't arrived on time, bad things could've happened."

"Who were they?" Temari asked with big eyes. "Can't you go the police or something?"

"Well, they didn't really attack us," Kankuro said, "They just kept annoying us with insults and remarks until Gaara snapped. And then all they did can be explained as self-protection."

"I see," Temari nodded. "But what should we do now?"

"I think we have to keep a low profile. You watch out too, Temari. They might be so low as to go after women."

"Puh, I can take care of myself!"

Gaara looked at her. "I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you. I think these guys are in some sort of criminal organization, like Sasuke was."

"That would indeed be very bad. Good, I'll watch out. You two, be careful too, okay?"

"Sure," they smiled.

"Oh," Kankuro said, "How was your job?"

"It's great, I really love it," she answered. Gaara smiled. "You like books."

She nodded. Then she smirked and turned to her oldest brother.

"And how was your night with Ino?"

"Quite enjoyable, thank you." She ignored his ears becoming red just a little. "But sheesh, that girl can talk a lot! It's worth it, though…"

Gaara and Temari looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. Then they both burst out in laughter.

"Hey!" Kankuro yelled. "Stop that now, Temari, or I'll start to talk about you!"

"Oh nonono, you won't!" she said, still laughing. Kankuro shrugged and laughed too.

"Now look at us," he said. "One big happy family."

The next day, after a good night's rest, Temari looked a little brighter at the world. It was Saturday, she didn't have any classes, and her brothers were, well, at least alive. But there was still something bothering her, apart from the trouble with her brothers. Tayuya.

The redhead just had to keep following Shikamaru around, didn't she? Temari was getting pretty pissed off about it. Even though Shikamaru said it was nothing and that the girl was just annoying, she couldn't brush away that nagging feeling of jealousy. It reminded her how she had felt about Ino at first, and she hated it.

As she was walking through the halls to get to the canteen, she suddenly heard his voice.

"Just leave me alone, will you? I told you before I already have a girlfriend!"

"So? That could be changed very easily…" That voice. That annoying, high-pitched voice. She turned around the corner and saw what she had feared to see. Shikamaru leaned against the wall, Tayuya dangerously close to him. It was a good thing he was glaring at her.

The girl was cut off in mid-sentence when Temari tapped her on her shoulder.

"Got a problem?" she asked, and Shikamaru chilled at the murderous intent in her eyes.

"Not until you arrived," Tayuya said. "See you later, Shikamaru!" She tried to go past Temari, and the Suna girl let her. But not without another killing glare. Shikamaru laughed, but stopped abruptly when he saw Temari glaring daggers at him as well.

"What? Thanks for saving me, by the way," he said.

"You're most welcome," Temari answered in a cold voice. "Listen, Shikamaru. If I see you near that redhead one more time, it'll be the last time you'll talk to a woman, ever."

"Hey, I was telling her to get lost! I don't like her at all, she's annoying!"

Temari frowned. "I'm just worried, okay? I know you wouldn't… y'know…"

"Of course, it's all right. Wanna get something to drink? They have some new sort of dessert in the canteen, Chouji told me it's quite good."

"Yeah, sure." He walked towards the canteen, and she followed him. She felt ridiculous and childish for not trusting him, and she was glad he didn't seem to mind much. But still, that nagging feeling of distrust… She shrugged it off, and sat down next to Shikamaru.

"Ehm, about last night…" she said quietly, and he looked at her. "What's it?"

She blushed. "I wanted to thank you. I must admit that I was pretty scared, but you, well…" He smiled warmly. "Of course I wouldn't hurt you. And I want to thank you, too."

He laced his fingers through hers, and she laughed. "Since when are you such a romantic guy? Are you trying to get something?"

He smirked slightly. "Well, I wouldn't mind to repeat last night… But only if you're okay with it."

She smiled. "I am. I'll come to you at nine, okay? You still got the…"

"Yep, I've got them."

"Good." She took her fork and attacked the salad.

"Hey, dude," Hidan said, as he elbowed Itachi. "Have you seen that dark blonde over there?"

Itachi followed his look and shrugged. "The one next to the Nara? Nothing special."

"Are you kidding me?" Hidan asked. "She's fucking hot, man!"

The dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and said: "Forget it. She's foreign, inexperienced and already taken. Besides, she's the sister of that Suna scum we encountered lately."

"Since when do I care? And if she is, then it's the perfect opportunity for revenge, isn't it?" Hidan said. Behind him, a red-haired girl looked around. She grinned.

"Oh yes," she silently mused to herself. "Perfect for revenge it is…"

She straightened her hat and walked towards the two senior students.

"Excuse me," she said, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I have an interesting offer for you…"

Itachi glared at her, but Hidan said: "Do tell me more."

After breakfast, Temari and Shikamaru went their separate ways. Temari returned to her room, but stopped when she reached it. Tayuya was leaning against her door, whistling a disgustingly happy song.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Temari asked, demandingly. Tayuya grinned in an evil way.

"Hasn't Shika told you yet?" she asked. "Oh, poor dear…"

"His name is Shikamaru. And what should he tell me?"

The redhead shrugged and innocently said: "I guess I'm not the best person to tell you, but… We're official now."

"Excuse me?" Temari said. What was this girl talking about?

"Yeah, he doesn't quite feel the same about you anymore. Too bad. But I guess he's better off with me anyway." She smiled that evil smile of hers. "If you'll excuse me now, I promised to meet my _boyfriend_ Shikamaru in a few minutes. Bye!"

She waved and walked away, swaying her hips and whistling another one of those irritating songs. Temari stood speechless in the doorway for a moment, and tried to gather her thoughts. It was clear Tayuya wanted to hurt her. Would she be telling the truth? No way! Temari clenched her fists and quickly went after the girl. She saw her going to the boys' corridor, and almost caught up with her. But at that moment, she noticed Shikamaru coming out of his room. He said something to Tayuya and she smiled at him.

Temari stopped dead in her tracks. It couldn't be true, could it really? Tayuya _had_ to be lying. Shikamaru would _never_ betray her like that, he wouldn't! But she saw them walking off together, talking. Tayuya glanced over her shoulder and cast Temari a malevolent grin. Told you so, it seemed to say. Temari turned around and ran away, trying very hard to suppress the tears welling up in her eyes. How could he, after what they did last night? She had even agreed on doing it again!

Behind the labs was a nice small field of grass. She could go there and try to find a way to take revenge. They should know that Temari the Desert Queen was not a girl to be trifled with!

Shikamaru got his bag to join the other guys outside on the soccer field, but when he took it a piece of paper fell out. He picked it up.

_Dear Shikamaru. There's something important you need to know. It's about your __girlfriend__. Love, Tayuya._

Tayuya, the redheaded stalker? What would she want now? He shrugged and threw the paper away. Then he swung his bag over his shoulder and went out of his room.

"Hey, Shikamaru," he suddenly heard. He looked around and saw Tayuya.

"I got your letter," he said, and she smiled at him. "What did you want to tell me?" he asked, walking into the direction of the exit. The girl followed him. "It'd better be important."

She cast a glance over her shoulder and looked at him again, smiling slightly.

"I have the most tragic news for you," she said, throwing back her hair. "You know, I've got a reliable source that says Temari is cheating on you."

"What?" Shikamaru said, shocked. "Where'd you get that idea?"

Tayuya grinned. "Well… Do you know who Hidan is?"

* * *

Gyaah, so sorry for not updating for so long! I've been really busy with school, and it looks like that'll continue for a while... I'll try to post on a regular basis, though. Keep an eye out for the next chapters!


	23. Chapter 21

AN: Sorry for not updating for so long! I kinda forgot, actually... I've been too busy with school, holidays and reading manga that the fanfiction slipped away a bit... I'll make it up to you!

**Chapter 21- Misunderstandings**

"There she is," Hidan said, pointing to the Science labs. The girl from Suna was walking quickly towards the small field of grass behind them. Itachi threw away his cigarette and asked: "You're gonna talk to her?"

"Yep," Hidan said. "See you later." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards the girl. Itachi watched him, his curiosity slightly stirred. The girl really wasn't special at all, it was a mystery to him what Hidan saw in her. But then again, Itachi wasn't interested in girls much. If he'd ever go for any woman, it would be the pink-haired one that still used to hang out with his little brother. But after he'd tried to seduce her some time ago, she had avoided him like the plague. Not that he minded, really. But he preferred to let Hidan take on this one alone. He turned around and walked away, searching for Deidara or Kisame. They would have more interesting things to talk about than girls.

"Hey there, beautiful," Temari heard. She snapped her head up and glared at the guy that had spoken to her. "What's up with the frown?" he asked. She saw he was one of the older students. He had quite long, bleached hair that was combed back, and his shirt hung open. Some strange symbol was hanging on a rosary around his neck.

"None of your business," she grumbled, and continued to pull out the grass around her.

He sat down next to her and observed her destructive occupation.

"Well, I don't care if you'll tell me your problem, but that's not very good for the grass," he stated. Temari sighed. Why wouldn't she tell a complete stranger? She leaned backwards and said:

"It's just that my _boyfriend_ thinks he's better of with some annoying redhead, and didn't even bother to inform me."

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah, it kinda does, doesn't it?" He looked at her inquisitive.

"Hard to understand someone would leave you, though," he said. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him interested. "Is that a compliment?"

"That depends. If you want it to be, it is," he said, and grinned. He almost had her. Just a little comfort, a compliment at the right moment, and they always melted. So easy…

As predicted, Temari lowered her eyes and turned her head with slightly colored cheeks. It was something after all, having a senior student showing interest in you. Still, this was nothing like her. Ah well, it was not like things could get much worse, couldn't they?

"Are you in the second year?" he asked. "I'm Hidan, by the way."

"No, I'm a freshman. My name is Temari."

"Temari, huh? Sounds foreign."

"It is. I'm from the Wind Country."

"Really? That's a fucking long trip. I never met someone from there. I guess they were right when they said the girls from there were hot."

Temari blushed again, frowned about that and said: "You're being quite impudent, really."

"Why the hell shouldn't I? I like you," he said.

"But I already have a…" Temari stopped her sentence. No, she did not have a boyfriend anymore. If that bastard could cheat on her like that, she would cheat on him right back. Hidan noticed her train of thoughts. He grinned.

"I guess you're single, then. Good. Now where were we?"

"I think I forgot," she said.

"You said your ex cheated on you, didn't he?" Hidan asked.

"Hn," she mumbled, frowning.

"Ai, sensitive subject. Well, you know what they say about cheating." A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"What?" she asked, interested.

"The best thing to do when you're being cheated on, is cheating right back…"

Temari looked up. He was right. She had found the perfect revenge. This Hidan was a strange fellow, really, but he was quite good-looking. And most of all, his interest in her was clear. A moment later, she found him putting his arm around her waist, and drawing her closer. She knew what would come next, and suddenly something hit her. If she would go on with this, she would be just as low as Shikamaru and Tayuya. Would she want that? Temari the Desert Queen was not a girl to be trifled with, but she was not untrustworthy. No matter how much pain Shikamaru caused her, she would not sink to his level and cheaply cheat on him.

She pushed Hidan away and stood up. He looked at her in surprise.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said, "but I'm not going on with this. Bye." She turned her back on him and walked away. Hidan still sat on the grass, dumbfounded. Had he just been rejected?

* * *

She got back to her room, only to find Shikamaru waiting for her.

"Temari! Where have you been?"

"I could ask you the same question, Shikamaru," she said, crossing her arms.

"I can't believe what Tayuya just told me!" he said. "I thought we still had something going on, but apparently I was wrong." Shikamaru frowned at her. She glared back.

"Yeah, it becomes kind of hard to keep a steady relationship when the other cheats on you," she said.

"So it is true what she told me," he said, hurt in his voice. "Temari, how could you betray me?"

"Now wait a minute! You were the one that cheated on me in the first place!"

"I did not! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Well, you sure know what Tayuya is talking about!" She spat out the name as if it was poison.

"The only thing she told me is that you just cheated on me behind my back! Is that true or not?"

She was silent for a moment. How did he dare to accuse her like that? As if he was so innocent.

"Unlike you, the only thing _I_ did was hanging out with some guy." She wanted to say more, but he interrupted her.

"What's his name?"

"Look, Shikamaru, if you are starting to act as if I'm the one that's wrong, I…"

"Just tell me his name already!"

"Fine! His name is Hidan. But I…"

"Oh, I'm sure you can explain. This is really a dirty trick, Temari. I didn't know you were capable of being so mean, but I guess Tayuya was right."

How could he still talk about that girl, after he did god-knows-what with her?

"Well? What did that redhead tell you?" she asked, much sharper than she had meant.

"That I'm better off without you. Goodbye, Temari," he said, and turned around. He opened the door and left the room.

"What?!" Temari ran after him. She opened the door he just closed. He was walking down the hall, and looked over his shoulder. Temari couldn't control her anger anymore.

"You bastard!" she yelled. "Go fuck that bitch for all I care!"

"Thanks a lot, I will!" he yelled back. "Have fun with that senior of yours!"

"Son of a bitch! Bastard!"

"You're repeating yourself, stupid cow!"

Other people were opening their doors, wondering where the noise came from. Of course they were surprised to see Shikamaru and Temari having a fight. Sakura entered the corridor and was just in time to see Shikamaru leave. She ran towards Temari.

"Temari! What happened?" Temari didn't answer. She gathered her breath and pulled Sakura back with her in the room. The girl looked at her and said:

"Hey, you're not going to cry, are you? Temari, don't cry, it's not so bad, you can make up and…"

"No," she sobbed, "I can't. I'll never forgive him."

"Jeez, if it's that bad he must've committed a serious sin." Sakura patted her back unsurely. "What happened?" she asked again.

"He, he… That bastard!" Temari brushed off Sakura's hand, turned her head to the wall and leaned against it.

"I thought he wouldn't betray me, not with a bitch like Tayuya. But she told me they were official, and I saw them together. They were talking and laughing, and… I can't believe it, I fucking gave him my virginity and then he betrays me like that!"

Sakura held her breath for a moment, then carefully wrapped her arm around Temari's shoulders.

"Listen," she said, "no matter what a girl like Tayuya says, I won't believe Shikamaru would cheat on you. I know that guy longer than you, and in the time you two were separated he never did even so much as speaking with another girl. All he could talk about was you, he was head over heels and I'm sure he still is. He loves you, and you love him! And you know Tayuya has been trying to get you separated for some time now. This is just another trick. You shouldn't believe that redhead, don't let her come between you."

Temari took a deep breath.

"But even if I forgive him, he'll never forgive me! He thinks I cheated on him, and he won't believe me when I say nothing happened with Hidan."

Sakura looked up. "Whoa, stop right there. Hidan?"

"Yes, what's up with it?"

"You cheated on Shikamaru with _Hidan_?"

"No! That's exactly what I'm telling you! I mean, I wanted to, but then I realized I'd be just as low as Tayuya, and so I left him!"

Sakura exhaled. "Good." She opened her bag and took a bottle of nail polish out of it (still in that horrible shade of green), started painting her nails and said:

"Cause you know, it'd be very bad if you had actually done something with him. I don't know if you know, but he's part of the group Itachi's in too. They call themselves Akatsuki. Stealing, cheating, beating up foreigners…"

Temari's eyes grew wide. "That's the same group that Gaara and Kankuro fought with! I can't believe I was so close…"

"Yeah, that's what I was saying. But, Temari…"

"What?"

"You two really have to make up. I mean, it's all quite coincidental, isn't it? Tayuya comes and tells you Shikamaru is cheating on you, you get mad and precisely at that moment, Hidan approaches you. And to make it complete, Tayuya tells Shikamaru _in the same time you're talking with Hidan_, that you're cheating on him."

"You're right," Temari said. "You're absolutely right. I have to talk to Shikamaru immediately."

She buried her face in her hands. "Ooh, but he'll never believe me!"

Sakura put the bottle of nail polish away and waved her fingers to let them dry.

"Don't lose faith so soon. You two love each other, you'll figure something out. Besides, with his IQ, I'm pretty sure he has seen through Tayuya's lies already!"

Temari nodded. "Thank you. I'll go now."

Sakura smiled at her encouragingly, and they left the room. Sakura went on her way to Naruto and Sasuke, and Temari headed towards Shikamaru's corridor. She bit her nails, and begged to all the gods she knew that he would believe her.


	24. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22- Making up  
**

Chouji knocked on Shikamaru's door.

"Shikamaru? Can I come in?" he asked. Slowly, the door opened. Chouji crinkled his nose when he noticed the smell of cigarettes coming from his room.

"Been smoking again?" he asked. Shikamaru nodded, and went with his hand through his untidy hair. "What's wrong?" Chouji asked, knowing his friend.

"A lot," Shikamaru said. "Come in."

Chouji entered the room and immediately opened the window.

"Really, I don't get how you survive in this smell," he said. "Something terrible must've happened." Shikamaru let himself fall on the bed and Chouji sat down next to him. "Explain."

"It's Temari. I heard she cheated on me, and she admitted she had been spending the afternoon with some older guy. She insisted nothing happened, but then accused me of betraying her. With Tayuya of all people, while she was the one who told me about Temari! I got mad and didn't let her finish, maybe that wasn't so smart…"

"Hmm…" Chouji frowned in thought. Temari and Shikamaru, cheating on each other? No way. There had to be something else going on. If it wasn't a poltergeist or demon, then at least there was a complot, because those two would never separate at their own free will.

"Are you really sure she cheated on you?"

"I don't really know anymore, but some hours ago I was pretty sure she did."

"Well, even if she did, you could also see it this way," he said. "She was very upset about even the slightest sign you were betraying her, so upset that she couldn't even think well anymore. That means she really cares a lot about you and your relationship."

Shikamaru grumbled. "I guess so. But still, why of all people did she have to choose that Hidan?"

"Hidan, you say? Aii… Well, if that's true, then I don't think it was much of a choice. There has to be planning of some sort, coincidence doesn't work that way.I mean, what's the chance that someone willing will walk into her precisely at the moment she's at her weakest?"

Shikamaru suddenly sat up straight. He looked at his friend with wide eyes.

"Almost none. I've been a fool, Chouji." He stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"It was about time you noticed that," Chouji silently said. He got up too and left the room, closing the door carefully.

* * *

In the middle of the hall, he saw her. Temari hurried towards him and began to talk quickly, almost pleading.

"Shikamaru, please listen to me. I know you'll probably not believe me, but I swear nothing happened! Whatever Tayuya said to you, she was lying! And I was a fool to listen to her too, I don't believe you cheated on me!"

He smiled at her: "Don't worry, I believe you. I'm sorry I got mad. We have to find Tayuya to ask her what the hell is going on."

Temari nodded, and pulled him with her, away from the crowded hall. There were way too many people watching them there. She took him to a deserted corridor, turned around to face him and kissed him full on the mouth.

He was taken by surprise, but gathered his thoughts quickly and kissed her back just as passionately.

"That," she said, a little out of breath, "is because I love you." Then she narrowed her eyes, raised her hand and slapped him. That surprised him even more than the kiss, and he stumbled backwards. He touched his cheek and stared at her, wide-eyed.

"And that," she hissed, "is so you never forget that you're mine, and mine alone, and don't you dare even _think _of cheating on me!"

Her gaze softened, and she smiled again. She stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on his cheek. "Sorry, sweety. You should slap me, too. I acted like a fool."

He grumbled something, looking away. "I'm not gonna hit a woman."

"Oh, you!" She took his hand and they started walking again.

"So, where would Tayuya be? I think she's in the canteen by now, it's almost time to lunch."

"Yeah, but there are too many people there, if we want to torture her it's gonna be a bit difficult."

"True. We'll have to wait 'til she's alone, then. If…" She suddenly stopped talking and looked at Shikamaru, a finger pressed against her lips, gesturing him to remain silent. He looked around and listened. Voices were coming from around the corner, a high-pitched female one and a lower mumble.

"Tayuya and Hidan," Temari mouthed. She silently stepped closer, pulling Shikamaru with her.

"… said it would work! But that bitch walked away before I even could get one kiss out of her!"

"That's not my fault! I made her vulnerable enough, if you were too stupid to take advantage of that then you don't have to blame me!"

"Yeah, as if your seducing skills are so great. What exactly happened with the guy?"

She grumbled, and Temari listened even closer. She gestured something to Shikamaru.

"Nothing," Tayuya mumbled. "As soon as he heard his girl was cheating on him, he left."

Hidan laughed, but stopped abruptly when he saw Shikamaru coming around the corner. The boy glared at him, and Hidan grinned a little nervously. Shikamaru grabbed him by his throat and said in a low voice:

"Don't you _ever _dare to touch my girl again! If you do, you'll suffer a fate worse than death…"

Tayuya pressed her hands against her mouth. "Shikamaru, baby, I can explain!" she shrieked. "We're just…"

"Shut up," she heard behind her, and turned around quickly.

"Oh, Sand Witch, it's just you," she said, but Temari grabbed her collar and yanked her with her to the other corridor. There she was pressed against the wall, and only now she noticed how much taller Temari was. And how much strength there was in the muscles beneath that dark skin. The blonde brought her mouth close to Tayuya's ear, and hissed: "Too bad your little ploy didn't work out, eh? Tough luck, girl."

She saw a small tattoo in Tayuya's neck that looked somehow familiar. She didn't pay much attention to it, though. The redhead winced and closed her eyes tightly.

"You don't have to be afraid I'll hit you," Temari said when she noticed, "Though I'd love to slam a few teeth out of your mouth, if only to make you stop whistling the entire day."

Tayuya swallowed. Temari still had her pressed against the wall, and she started to get out of breath.

"If you… do anything to me…" she managed to choke out. Temari grinned.

"I told you, I won't. There's no need to make my hands dirty just now. But if you ever try anything funny again, I won't hesitate."

"I won't do anything, I swear," she whispered. Temari released her grip. "Good. Now, beat it!"

Tayuya was quick to obey that order.

Temari rubbed her hands over her thighs, as if to clean them. She grinned. Ah, how she loved being violent… She went back to Shikamaru and saw he was alone now, too.

"We make quite a good team, huh? Where'd he go?" she asked. He shrugged and took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Away."

"Good. Hey, you're not allowed to smoke here."

"So?" he asked, and crushed the cigarette against the wall before throwing it away. She laughed. "Hey, how about taking the rest of the day off? I don't have to work, and I'm sure you're a genius at math already."

"And what do you suggest we would do instead of working or studying?"

"Oh," she said innocently, "perhaps team building of some sort… We should celebrate making up, don't you think?"

"That's good enough of a reason for me. Come, let's go back to my room." He took her hand and together they walked back.

* * *

Temari opened her eyes lazily. She saw the blurry outline of Shikamaru's spiky hair and remembered she didn't have college in the morning. Which was good, 'cause she wouldn't have attended it anyways. Shikamaru's bed was just too comfortable, she had slept like a log. Now she understood why he never wanted to wake up. She sighed and slowly sat upright. She felt a tug at her arm, ordering her to stay in bed, but she smiled and shook her head. She swung her legs over the rim of the bed and shivered at the coldness of the floor on her bare feet. A grumble came from the bed:

"Hmm… don't leave…"

"Sorry, Shikamaru," she said while trying to find her shirt. "Do you know whether Ino has classes now?"

"Ino? Nah, never in the morning. Whaddaya need her for?"

"Just girl talk. I'll see you at lunch time, okay?" She closed the zipper of her jeans and smoothed down her hair a bit. "Try not to miss me too much."

He sighed and covered himself in the blankets again. Temari smiled and silently left the room. She walked towards the girls' corridor, humming to herself. Ah, how she loved being in love.

She reached Ino's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" came the answer. She opened the door and found Ino in front of the mirror, plucking her eyebrows. She looked at her via the reflection and smiled.

"Hi, Temari! Your hair looks terrible, you know."

Temari tugged at it, and said: "Yeah, I didn't really have the opportunity to comb it this morning…"

"Lost your brush?"

"No, slept at Shikamaru's."

"Ooooh!" Ino wiggled her half-plucked eyebrows at her, and from the bed came a voice:

"Ino…"

The blonde handed Temari her hairbrush, and said: "Just ignore her. She came here to talk to me and all she's done is lying there."

Temari turned around and saw Sakura lying on the bed, smiling at the ceiling.

"You seem to be a lot happier!" she said, pulling the brush through her tangled hair. "Something happened?"

"Hmmm, I guess…" Sakura only continued smiling. Ino heaved a dramatic sigh and told Temari:

"Yes, something happened! Yesterday, when you and Shikamaru disappeared for some reason, Sasuke decided to quit the ice-cube demeanor and he and Sakura weren't seen for the rest of the night. So we've got another couple now!"

"Oh Sakura, how great! You must be so happy."

Sakura let out a sigh, still smiling like a fool. Temari decided she wouldn't get a sensible word out of her and turned to Ino again.

"Well, I suppose we could start a matchmaking business! There are so many people together now…"

"Uhuh. Let's see, you and Shika of course, and there's Kiba and Hinata, and now Sasuke and Sakura… Who do we have left?"

"You and Kankuro, for one."

Ino's mouth turned downwards. "Hm."

"What? Don't tell me you're ditching him already!"

"I… I just don't know. I don't know why, but somehow, every time I think I've found a nice guy I just can't continue it. I don't understand, but it's just that way."

Temari crossed her arms. "And what does Kankuro think of it? I mean, he's still my brother, you can't just dump him and hope I won't do anything about it."

"He… Well, he didn't like it, but I think he understood…"

"Hm. Okay, I'll talk to him later. Hey, are Hinata and Tenten coming too?"

"Dunno, we'll see them during dinner anyways. It's in your room this time, don't forget it."

"I won't. Ehm, I wanted to ask you… Do you have any painkillers? I have a terrible headache."

"Yeah, sure," Ino said, and tossed her a small box with pills. Sakura stood up from the bed. "Save some for me, will you? Sasuke kisses wonderfully, but it is tiring. I think I'm going to bed now."

Temari looked at her. "I don't know whether you've noticed, but it's eight in the morning. Do you really think that's a good time to go to sleep?"

"Well, there's nothing important today, and I didn't really get a lot of rest tonight, y'know."

Ino laughed. "Some girls we are! Barely old enough and already behaving like…"

"Nonono!" Temari interrupted. "Ino, it's only like that when you change boyfriends every few minutes, like you do!"

The blonde raised her tweezers in a threatening gesture and said to Temari, barely containing her laughter:

"Just because I have some problems with bonding, that doesn't mean I'm…"

"Bonding?" Sakura snickered. "Oh, Ino, what a girl you are!"

"Go to sleep, you!" She pushed Sakura back on the bed, but the girl pulled her with her and they ended up in a tangled mess of arms and legs, laughing like idiots. Temari smiled and opened the door.

"Well, I'm going to get some breakfast. See you later!"

* * *

**AN**: Please don't understand me wrong because of the girls' talk, that's just the way girls like them talk... And I'm sorry if any of you readers doesn't like SasuSaku, please don't start flaming. (every time I post something like NaruSaku or KibaHina I get all kinds of comments like: "OMG I hate that pairing, he/she should be with so-and-so and the other can die!" Well, not literally like that, but I think you know what I mean.). I personally like SasuSaku a lot, it was one of my first fandoms, but it won't have a really big role in the SKEP. So no worries! I should be finished with one of my projects this week, so then I'll have more time to write. Bye!


	25. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23- That's what you have friends for  
**

Temari put the last book on the shelves and exhaled. Finally, she was done. She got her coat and closed the door of the shop, carefully putting away the key. She checked her watch. Half past five, if she hurried she could be on time for dinner.

She quickly went to Tenten's room, where the other girls would be. When she got there, though, she found only Tenten.

"Hey, where are the others?"

Tenten laughed. "I forgot it was my turn to cook today, so we're eating in the canteen. I was just about to go."

"Oh, okay."

The two girls walked through the corridors together. There were quite a lot of people, and Temari wondered why it was so crowded. She asked Tenten.

"I don't know," the girl answered. "If it's important we'll find out soon enough."

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, have you heard about Sakura yet?"

"About her and Sasuke, you mean? Yeah, I did."

"Great for her, isn't it?"

"I suppose so. But it makes me a bit… I don't know."

"Wha, you're not jealous, are you?"

"No, not in that way. But it's just… All of you are getting together! You and Shikamaru are acting as if you've been married for years already, Kiba and Hinata are impossible to separate, Ino has masses of boyfriends, and now Sakura too… It makes me feel so left out."

Temari thought about it for a moment. It was true, Tenten had never really been involved with a guy. Would she feel so sad about that?

"Is it just that you feel left out by us, or do you have a crush and you can't get it to become something more?" she asked.

Tenten looked away. "Both, I guess."

"Hmmm… Well, you're the only one who can change that!"

"You're probably right. Hey, don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Sure."

They entered the canteen. Tenten waved to the other girls, who were all sitting at a table. The boys sat at the table next to it. Sakura had turned around and talked with Naruto and Sasuke, leaning on the backside of her chair. Lee and Gaara were having a heated conversation, and Kankuro discussed something with Kiba, Shino and Neji. Temari caught Shikamaru's eye, and greeted him silently. He answered her smile and continued eating. She got some pasta from the buffet and sat down next to Ino.

"Hi! Anything new happened?"

"Nah, not really," the blonde answered. "I've decided to quit boys for a while, though."

"How do you mean, quit?"

"Exactly what I say. I'm done with them, from now on I'll live celibate."

Temari laughed. "I wish you luck!"

At that moment, the door to the canteen opened and three people came in. A red-haired woman (Temari narrowed her eyes but then realized it wasn't Tayuya), a young man wearing a police uniform, and a really big guy with arms like tree trunks. The room fell silent and all eyes were directed at them. The one wearing the uniform said:

"Is Uchiha Sasuke here?"

Sakura's eyes became wide, and she looked at Sasuke quickly. His face was blank, showing no surprise. He stood up and said:

"I am here."

"Come with us for a moment, please," the policeman said.

Sasuke walked towards them and they silently spoke to him. He answered just as quietly, and the strangers took him out of the canteen.

Everyone looked at each other. What was going on? Sakura and Naruto started whispering, and Temari met Shikamaru's eyes again. He shrugged.

After a few minutes, the red-haired woman came back. She looked around and then came towards their table. Sakura and Naruto immediately approached her.

"Excuse me, miss, what is going on? Why are you looking for Sasuke?" Sakura asked. The woman looked at her.

"We're busy investigating a case, and he can help us with that."

"So he's not getting arrested?" Naruto asked. The woman smiled. "No."

"Good."

"I would like to ask you a few questions, though. Uchiha Sasuke used to work for a company. Could you tell me what you know about that?"

"Sure," Naruto said. "It was a bunch of criminals, and they forced Sasuke to work with them!"

Sakura kicked his shin. She smiled apologetic at the woman. "Excuse him, please. I do know a bit about the work he did, more than this idiot probably."

"Good, shall we sit down and talk about that, then?" Sakura nodded, and offered the woman a seat next to Temari. The woman (she was younger than she looked like at first glance) held her hand out to Sakura and said:

"My name is Karin, by the way." Sakura shook her hand and said: "Haruno Sakura."

"Well then, Sakura. Can you tell me about the company Uchiha Sasuke worked at?" She took a notebook and pen, and looked at Sakura in anticipation. The girl swallowed.

"Of course. It was a company that investigated DNA modification, though Sasuke didn't work in a lab. He had to keep the books for the chief, accounting and such. He got paid a lot, but he told me he found out the company was committing fraud, so he left."

Karin nodded. "Hm, he was right about the fraud. That's how we got them, eventually, but it wasn't the only thing they were doing."

"Oh?" Sakura's eyes were wide. "What else then?"

"Their investigation of DNA was illegal. They tried unethical experiments, really bad things were happening."

Temari eyed them secretly. She was working with DNA and cell cultivation herself, so this was intriguing. She cleared her throat and asked:

"Excuse me, but could you tell me more about the experiments this company was doing? I'm studying Biomedical science and this could be very interesting."

Karin looked at her. "I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to talk about the results of our research. But even if I did, I don't know anything about that subject so I couldn't tell you a thing."

"That's too bad," Temari sighed. "Thanks anyway."

Karin put her notebook away and smiled. "I guess I'm done. My partners will be finished with the boy soon, and then we can go again."

Seeing Sakura's look, she explained: "This is only formal. It's needed to round off the case, Sasuke worked there for some time so we need to question him too, but it's not really important."

"That's fine," Sakura said. "Sasuke felt really bad about his job there, I'm glad they're getting to court now."

Karin nodded. Then she looked at the girls, grinning slightly.

"Oh, I do hope Suigetsu and Juugo will leave some of that Sasuke guy for me. He's a real cutie…"

Temari and Sakura exchanged looks. Sakura's eyebrow twitched, and Temari began to fear for the health of the woman next to her. She decided to act quickly and said the first thing that came to mind:

"Ah, too bad he's already taken!" Sakura looked at her, tensed, but Temari winked. No need to get possessive, girl. Karin looked at her curiously.

"Oh really? Which one of these girls is the lucky one?"

Temari coughed. "Well, it's not really a _girl_…" Karin's eyebrows shot up.

"Then you mean…" Temari nodded, and gestured towards Naruto.

"See that blond guy there?" Karin followed her look. She pouted and said:

"Aaaah… Why all the cute ones..."

Temari nodded, sighing too. "Always the cute ones…"

Behind her, Sakura was unable to contain her laughter.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and Sasuke came back, clearly looking relieved. Naruto immediately began talking to him, which resulted in a slightly jealous and wistful look from Karin. The guy in the police uniform then asked for her attention, and the three officers talked quietly for a while.

Naruto and Sasuke sat down next to Sakura. The pink-haired girl asked:

"How did it go? What did they ask?"

"Nothing to worry about," Sasuke said reassuringly. "The one with the light hair is a cop, I told him to take a look at my brother's gang. He said he had been doing that for a while already, he's after one of Itachi's friends. The big guy used to work under Orochimaru too, he showed me he also has that tattoo."

He absently rubbed his neck. Temari suddenly remembered something.

"Hey Sasuke, can I take a closer look at it?" she asked. The boy looked at her suspiciously, but pulled his collar lower. Temari inspected the dark lines of the mark there, and smiled. It was the same.

"Okay, thank you," she said. "I'm gonna talk to those cops for a minute."

The three others looked at her strangely as she walked towards the officers.

"… So I guess we're done here." The uniformed guy (Suigetsu, was it?) closed his notebook. At that moment, Temari asked:

"Eh, excuse me? I just remembered something that might be useful."

"Well, spill it," Suigetsu said.

"Sasuke said the tattoo he has in his neck is a sign of the company he worked for. He said all people involved with its criminal activities have one. Well, I don't know if this is useful, but I know a girl who has precisely the same tattoo."

Karin and Suigetsu exchanged glances.

"What's her name?" Suigetsu asked.

"Oto no Tayuya. She lives here on the campus."

Karin scribbled it down, and Suigetsu said: "Thank you. We'll have a talk with her."

Temari smiled and went back to the others. She let herself fall into a chair next to Shikamaru and looked at him contently.

"I don't think we'll be having trouble with Tayuya anymore," she said. He didn't ask why she thought that, merely shrugged. "Good."

"And when they're going after that Akatsuki gang too, I think Hidan won't show up anymore either…"

That made him smirk. "Even better," he said.

* * *

**AN: **I'm having a bit of a writer's block here... I want to write 2 more chapters, but I'm kinda out of ideas. Do you have any suggestions?


	26. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24- Plans  
**

"Temari?"

"Hmmmwhat?" Temari looked up lazily. Man, was it comfortable to lie in Shikamaru's arms, on his bed, with nothing to do for the next two days!

"I'm gonna visit my parents this Sunday. Would you like to come with me?"

"Oh!" She sat upright. "Sure. Is it a special occasion?"

"Yeah, it's the anniversary of their marriage."

"That'll be fun," Temari smiled. "I'll buy them flowers."

Shikamaru laughed. "That's a good idea!" Then he pulled her down again, but before he could kiss her, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Hey, turtle-doves!" someone yelled. "It's Friday night, what on earth are you doing in your room?!"

"Ino…" they sighed at the same moment. The blonde opened the door and peeked inside.

"Sorry to disturb!" she grinned. "Sakura and me are joining the others at Ichiraku's, wanna come with us?"

Shikamaru slowly got to his feet. "Alright," he said. Temari straightened her hair and got up too.

"Should I change my clothes?" she asked. Ino shook her head. "You look fine."

She examined herself. Jeans, purple top, her hair loose. She shrugged, it was okay. Sakura laughed. "Don't be so unsure, get some confidence! Your hair looks really nice when it's loose."

"Thank you," she murmured. Sakura wore her favorite dress, bright red and reaching to her knees, with skull charms as decorations. She looked gorgeous, and again Temari felt so very dull. She didn't say so, though.

When they arrived at Ichiraku's bar, the first thing that shot trough Temari's mind was that she wanted to get away from this place. There was loud music playing, some people were dancing at a small floor, there were bars and mirrors on all sides of the place, it was crowded and very warm.

The feeling faded away when she looked around better. The music was loud, but it was a good song, and although there were many people indeed, it wasn't like you couldn't move at all. She had seen worse at the airport.

All others were already sitting at a table. Sakura immediately sat next to Sasuke and Naruto, and Ino was taken to a quiet corner by Kankuro.

Tenten waved to Temari, and she raised her hand in a greeting as well. The brown-haired girl wore her hair in two elaborate braids, ribbons woven trough them, and her top was cut breathtakingly low. Temari sat down next to her.

"Special occasion?" she asked. Tenten shook her head.

"No, I just felt like dressing up."

"Well, it looks great," Temari smiled. She looked around and noticed some things. Hinata was sitting on Kiba's lap, for one. Of course everyone knew they were together, but the girl was always careful not to show many signs of affection in public. She was just too shy, but now she was, although blushing fiercely, feeding Kiba little bites of her bread roll. And Kiba enjoyed it greatly, apparently, because he only interrupted her now and then to kiss her. Temari caught Shikamaru's eye and gestured discreetly towards the couple. A quick smile graced his lips, then he continued chatting with Chouji. The other boy was acting a bit restlessly, constantly fiddling his fingers and stealing glances at the girl on the other side of the table. Ino.

Temari leaned towards Tenten and whispered:

"Do you know whether there's something between Ino and Chouji that we don't know?"

Tenten looked up and glanced at them. "Chouji likes her perhaps, but I don't think Ino will answer those feelings," she whispered back. "You know she planned to keep it low with the guys for a while."

"I know, she dumped my brother. Well, that's too bad for Chouji," Temari said. "I think they'd be cute together, a person like him deserves to be loved."

"Hmm, yeah," Tenten answered. "Hey, how's your work in the bookshop going?"

"Great! It's really fun, and it pays nicely too."

"That's good. I'm still looking for a job, maybe I can become waitress too. Sakura says she enjoys it."

"I suppose it's a good job," Temari said. At that moment, the door of the bar opened again and two persons came in. Tenten looked up and smiled. She waved.

"Neji! Lee! Over here!"

The boys looked into their direction and came towards the table. They sat down at the other side of Tenten and Neji said:

"There was police at the campus again."

"Oh?" Tenten asked. "Is Sasuke really getting arrested now?"

Lee shook his head. "No, but maybe his brother is. Some members of the Akatsuki gang are already taken away, as well as a few younger people. That girl Tayuya too."

Temari turned her head towards them, her eyes gleaming.

"Finally!" she said.

"You seem to be quite hateful towards that person," Neji stated. Temari nodded.

"Yeah, I know it's not very nice of me, but she really caused me problems. I'm happy she'll be gone so I won't be bothered by her anymore."

"I see."

Tenten laughed. "The more you love one person, the more you hate another! Really, I'm happy I don't have to worry about that!"

Temari glanced at the girl sideways. Tenten had told her she would really like to be in love, then why would she say otherwise when Neji and Lee were there?

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Everyone craves for love, even you, Tenten."

"Could be, but happiness does not depends only on that."

Lee caught Temari's eye and smiled. Temari directed her eyes at Neji and Tenten, looked at Lee again and sent him a questioning look. Lee winked, and Temari hid her laugh behind her hand.

Tenten cut off her discussion with Neji:

"I'm gonna get us some drinks."

She stood up and walked to the bar. Temari began some small talk with Neji and Lee, but that was cruelly interrupted when they heard Tenten yell:

"My eyes are up here, you pervert!"

Neji quickly turned around, and nudged Lee's shoulder. Tenten came back without drinks, fuming.

"Damn that guy, only looking down, as if I'm nothing more that some…" she muttered, her cheeks red with anger. She fell down on her chair again, still frowning, and Neji and Lee looked at each other. Neji gestured towards the bar, his jaw clenched. Lee nodded. Then they stood up and went to the bar. Tenten followed them with her eyes, and her expression quickly softened.

"Oh, those guys…" she said. Temari quietly said:

"Well, with that shirt of yours, you're kind of asking for it…"

The girl pouted. "Still, that's no reason to be so rude. But," and her eyes lighted up, "have you seen Neji and Lee? Oh, that look in their eyes!"

"Don't tell me you did it on purpose?!"

"Of course not, what are you taking me for? But it's still great to see, isn't it?"

"I didn't know they were so protective of you."

"Well, we've known each other since kindergarten. Kinda like Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji, we're also always together."

"I see."

Neji returned, his face blank, with only hints of a satisfied smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. Lee however was laughing, looked at Neji and then rolled his eyes at Tenten and Temari. Temari smiled, and said:

"Well, I guess I'll have to get my drink myself then. See you later, Tenten!"

Tenten greeted her and Temari stood up. She walked to the bar as well, but wasn't surprised when she saw no one there. She just went to another counter and bought a soft drink.

When she arrived back at the table, she noticed Kankuro quietly talking to Ino. The blonde had a sad expression, but shook her head determined.

"I just want some rest, please understand that," Temari heard her say. "I don't want to be 'that girl with the boyfriends' all the time. I hope you don't feel rejected. It's not because of you, really, you're a great guy, but I just want to take a break."

Kankuro sighed. "Well then, if you insist. Just know that I still like you a lot, okay?"

She smiled. "I'll remember it. Hey, you know, Kiba has a sister who…"

Temari decided to leave her brother and her friend alone with their love-troubles and walked over to her own. She sat down next to Shikamaru, but he was still in a quiet conversation with Chouji. Temari concentrated on her drink and amused herself by watching Kiba and Hinata. Damn, that girl was cute, Kiba was one lucky guy. She wondered whether Naruto regretted turning her down, but decided it was none of her business. All this couple-talk too, seriously. The only thing people were thinking about was who was going out with who. Temari sighed and set her empty glass on the table. She was glad all trouble between her and Shikamaru was over now.

She was yanked out of her thoughts when Shikamaru placed a hand on her arm.

"Earth to Temari, do you hear me?" he asked.

"Loud and clear," she laughed. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"So I've noticed. Do you want another drink?" he asked.

"No, thanks. There is something else I'd like, though…"

One of his eyebrows was pulled up. "And what could that be?"

"You," she smiled. "Come, let's dance."

She dragged him to the dance floor, laughing at the face he made. He muttered something like: "I don't like dancing at all," but Temari ignored him and pulled him along.

"Here, this song is great. Just move to the rhythm," she said. It was fun to see him try. She swayed her hips, feeling a little of her confidence returning when she noticed some guys stealing glances at her. Shikamaru noticed too, and glared into their direction. Temari laughed and just continued dancing. The song that came next was a slow one. Shikamaru grinned and grabbed her arms. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. The music was soft and the rumor around them became quieter too. They moved slowly, close to each other.

"I thought you hated dancing?" she whispered in his ear.

"Not this kind of dancing," he answered.

**AN:** I'm out of my writer's block, I guess. Not very fond of this chapter, it's only talking about couples... Well, sorta belongs to the genre, so I'll just accept it. In a few weeks I've got my finals, I plan to have finished the last chapter before that. Please bear with me a little longer!


	27. Chapter 25

**AN**: Finally then, the last chapter. It's very short, I'm sorry about that, but I'm not good at writing romance... Besides, I have to study for my finals too ;)

Thank you for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed it!

* * *

**Chapter 25- Happy endings  
**

Late in the night, or rather, early in the morning, Ino, Shikamaru, Temari and Chouji left Ichiraku's. Ino was swaying slightly, and leaned on Chouji for support.

"You really shouldn't drink that much," Shikamaru said. Ino glared at him.

"I'll decide that for myself, thank you," she snarled. Temari decided to prevent an argument and said:

"Shikamaru, could we take the route through the park?" That way to the campus was longer, but more beautiful, especially in the dark. He shrugged. "Okay."

"I'll take the shorter route," Chouji said, gesturing to Ino who was still leaning on his arms. "This girl needs to get in bed soon."

Ino ignored him proudly. When Temari and Shikamaru had walked into the park and left them all alone, Chouji asked:

"Why did you break up with Temari's brother? I thought you were very happy with him."

Ino frowned. "Kankuro… I didn't want to have a boyfriend anymore. And well, he was happy with me, but I didn't really feel anything special for him. Sure, he's nice and good-looking, but I wasn't in love, y'know?"

Her voice was a bit slurred. Chouji slowly nodded. "I see. So that means you don't want another boyfriend anytime soon?"

She shook her head. "I'm not planning so. I've had it with all those arrogant pretty guys, it's like they're all the same. Sai, Kankuro, all of them only wanted to get me into their beds."

"But Kankuro isn't that kind of person, is he? I'm sure not all guys are like that."

"Perhaps you're right. Haha, you're a guy too of course, and you're nothing like them!"

Ino laughed, and lost her balance for a moment. Chouji quickly put his arm around her middle and supported her.

"Careful," he said. She giggled, and said: "I think Shikamaru was right, I've had a bit too much." Her cheeks were red, and she looked up to Chouji with such a cheerful smile that he felt a pang of regret. Why was this wonderful girl always with the guys who didn't deserve her? Kankuro had been an exception, but Chouji still felt jealous of him.

He said: "Ino, there's something you have to know."

"Do you think this is the right moment to tell me? I might have forgotten it tomorrow!"

He thought that perhaps that would be the best, and continued:

"I like you a lot, Ino. You're one of my best friends, but lately I've noticed that, whenever I look at you, I get butterflies…"

Ino interrupted him. "You can't be serious," she said with large eyes.

"I am. I know that you probably won't feel the same way about me, 'cause I'm not handsome or cool or anything like the other guys are, but I just wanted to tell you."

"Please, Chouji, don't say this. I can't loose you too!"

"You're not losing me, ever," Chouji said. "How could you think that? I'd never leave you."

"B-but if you really feel that way… How can I cope with that? You…"

He turned his head away, unable to stand her shocked look any longer.

"I knew it. You don't like me."

Ino softly placed her hands on his shoulders and forced him to meet her eyes again.

"Chouji, I do like you. It's just that you deserve a good girl who won't give you any trouble, not a v-vulgar girl like me who ch-changes her boyfriend every t-two weeks…" Her lips started trembling. Chouji forgot his own worries and said:

"Ino, don't say that. Whoever told you that you were vulgar was wrong, you're lovely."

"Thanks." She smiled with watery eyes. Chouji sighed.

"But I think I'll be glad if you've forgotten this tomorrow. If you don't love me…"

"You silly," Ino said, laughing again already. "I won't forget something like this. And who said I don't love you too?"

--

Temari glanced over her shoulder, and smiled.

"I think Ino's finally settled down."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "That's good. I was starting to get worried about her, but with Chouji, there's nothing that can go wrong."

"I'm glad," Temari said. "There's a happy ending for everyone, after all."

"I guess so. Except for Kankuro, then."

"Oh, he'll survive. I know him, he'll have another girl in no time," Temari said. "Hey, when we're gonna eat with your parents, should I wear something special?"

"Nah, just something decent. We're not going to a really fancy restaurant, but it is quite chic."

"Okay." Temari sighed. "Man, we've come a long way, haven't we?"

"How do you mean?" Shikamaru asked. "It's not very long from Ichiraku's to here, is it?"

"Haha, not like that!" she laughed. "I mean our time together. When I first came here as exchange student, I had no idea I'd end up with you."

"And, do you regret it?"

"Not at all." She stopped walking and looked around. They were in the middle of the park, stars were peeking through the leaves of the trees around them, and it was all utterly romantic. Temari sighed again, and took Shikamaru's hand.

"It's the best that has ever happened to me," she said, a serious look in her eyes. Shikamaru smiled. "I feel very flattered."

"I'm not kidding. I love you, damn it!" She turned to face him completely, her bright eyes lighting up in the darkness. He took in the sight for a moment, this beautiful girl, telling him she loved him. She was wonderful.

"Temari…" He raised his free hand and carefully brushed her hair away from her forehead. Then he let his fingers slide down over her cheeks, and tilted up her chin.

"This is all so very cliché," he said, but Temari smiled.

"I don't care. Just tell me you love me too, already."

He closed her in his arms. "I love you."

She buried her face in his T-shirt. It struck her again how tall he was.

"I'm worried," Shikamaru said. "What if there's gonna be another Tayuya, a new Hidan? What if we can't make it okay any more?"

"That's not gonna happen," Temari said. "Believe me, it won't."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked. "Maybe you'll meet a funny, handsome boy tomorrow who's everything you ever dreamt of, and…"

"Unless that boy is too smart and lazy for his own good, unless he has a ponytail and earrings and unless he's utterly troublesome, I won't even look at him twice," Temari interrupted. "I thought you would know that by now."

"I know, I know. I'm just scared that I'll lose you, alright? That whole affair with Hidan had me really upset."

"I promise it'll never happen again," Temari said. Shikamaru smiled, but grimaced when she dug her nails into his arms. "What was that for?!"

"As if you were the only one who was upset," she said, looking up at him with narrow eyes. "Really, it's good that Tayuya's gone now."

He swallowed, but she already laughed again. "Silly," she smiled. "Don't ever leave me."

"I won't."

He leaned forwards and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, should we tell my parents about our plans for marriage when we see them tomorrow?" he asked jokingly.

"Alright, shall I tell them?" she said. "Then you can tell about my pregnancy when I introduce you to my father."

They laughed, but then Shikamaru leaned forwards to kiss her again, this time on her lips. She answered passionately, and soon they had forgotten everything around them.

Half an hour later, when they quietly sneaked into Shikamaru's room, they were still holding hands.

**THE END  
**


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